


Mortal Kombat: Zootopia

by MagicAlpha



Category: Mortal Kombat - All Media Types, Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Action, Action/Adventure, Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Anthropomorphic, Crossover, Disney Cameos, Disney References, Easter Eggs, Fights, Martial Arts, Mortal Kombat, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2020-11-08 16:27:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 58,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20838536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagicAlpha/pseuds/MagicAlpha
Summary: For almost a decade, the lion known as Leodore has remained the villainous coordinator of the most significant fighting tournament in the world. All he needs in one more victory in order to set his wicked plans in action. Will the newest team of brave fighters be able to bring an end to the lion's triumph, or will destruction come to the world as they know it?





	1. Prologue

For what had been the longest time, the world had been known as the home to a plethora of legendary heroes. It was thanks to both their fighting skills and heroic actions that the lives of the mammals that occupied the surrounding land could remain prosperous.

However, as fate would have it, the previous tranquility of life started to come to its close. With every existing hero that manages to bring peace and longevity, there is always another foe waiting to strike and bring destruction.

And at the most current moment in time, the villain that was very close to getting what he pleased was a heinous lion that went by Leodore. The name of this feline remained feared, and most of the time managed to bring a shiver to the spine of any mammal that heard utterance of it.

Being from another realm, where prosperity was negative and turmoil was a celebration, Leodore was naturally a dark force to be reckoned with. As a result of a curse that had been placed upon him, his power could only be maintained by absorbing the once-living souls of those he conquered.

And so the flagitious feline entered a grand fighting tournament, one that had been occurring since oldest living memory. Created by higher powers many, many years ago, this particular tournament was what gave the precious world a chance to defend itself and those who inhabit it.

The bravest and most highly-skilled warriors became Leodore's competition, all of which had their own individual ways of fighting. However, the lion, being as powerful as he was, swiftly managed to defeat all of those who stood before him and be named the victor of the tournament.

Time continued its course, and with it he ended up becoming the coordinator of the event. Unfairly abusing this specific power, Leodore tipped the scales in favor of the treacherous realm that he came from. This went on for what felt like the longest time; valiant mammals of all kinds would make their attempt to defeat him, but all would fail.

In the present year, the lion only needed one more victory for his nefarious plans to become reality. If he managed to get as he pleased, his plans of officially taking over would be set into action. The denizens that occupied his realm would be given ability to conquer what they saw before them, and serenity would be no more. There were evils in existence that were far greater than even Leodore, and those would be mercilessly unleashed should he have success once again.

If there was anyone present that fully understood how serious this situation was, it was Lord Bogo. Being a god and a protector of the world since its early formation, he had witnessed a multitude of actions committed by many smaller enemies in the past. This current threat, however, was a lot graver than the other things that he had witnessed before, and he was very much aware of the havoc and devastation that would come if the worst came to pass.

Leodore had given him an invitation to witness the tournament this time around, menacingly stating that he was certain that not even a god like him could overthrow his dark rule. And so he accepted the lion's request, and took the form of a cape buffalo in order to do so. He actually risked his immortality by doing such a thing, but he would make whatever sacrifice was necessary for the sake of the world's fate.

After all, Lord Bogo knew that this was officially the beginning of the event that would decide the major outcome of life on this realm.


	2. The Tournament Begins

_The rabbit was panting heavily, pulling himself up from off of the ground. Whether he wanted to admit it to himself or not, he was starting to lose some of his strength. But he was quite far from giving up on what he wanted to accomplish. His paws were clenched into the tightest of fists as he tried to quickly catch his breath. _

_With barely a scratch on him, Leodore stood a good distance away, paws behind his back as he wore the faintest grin. The rabbit let out a frustrated grunt, breaking out into a sprint. Speeding upward as fast as his nimble paws could carry him, he tried to get the tall lion with a sudden jab._

_However, Leodore quickly held out a large paw, immediately blocking the anticipated punch. As the feline swung back, the buck ducked down as far as he possibly could. Getting back up, the jackrabbit attempted another strike, but it was again deflected by his adversary with much swiftness. _

_On his third try to catch the lion by surprise, the bunny himself ended up being the one surprised when his arm was seized. Leodore chortled delightedly at the fact that he had won once again._

_The buck was very much disconcerted at his current fate, his breaths now shallow and frightened in tone._

_"Did you seriously believe that you, a rabbit of all mammals, had even had the_ slightest _chance of __defeating _me_?" Leodore snarled. "Although I will admit that you fought with a lot of effort." The large feline held a paw close to who he had just defeated._

_"No!" the rabbit exclaimed, even though it would do absolutely nothing for him. _

_"Your soul is now mine," the lion said in reply. "And your brother Jack is next."_

_Meanwhile, a good distance from where the two figures were located, a striped jackrabbit stealthily observed what was occurring from behind the remains of a pillar. He had watched a good bit of the battle as it pressed onward, occasionally shielding his vision when he thought that things got too frightening for him._

_Hearing what was happening, he shouted, "Brother!"_

_But no response came to him._

_"Brother!"_

* * *

"No!"

The striped jackrabbit that uttered the exclamatory gasp couldn't help but feel the rapidness of his heart beating against his very chest. That particular memory involving the loss of his brother had haunted him for the longest time, and his mind unfortunately went back to the moment that everything changed right before the tournament was about to commence.

"Jack, what is it that troubles you?" a familiar voice called to the buck's right. The figure that spoke to him was a cape buffalo cloaked in blue and white clothing, as well as a straw hat of some sort.

"It is nothing, Lord Bogo," Jack replied, knowing that he was lying through his teeth. "It is nothing."

The sound of a large gong being struck reverberated in the night, the source of it coming from an ornamental pagoda located not too far from where everyone was currently standing. Its solitary, resonant note managed to capture the attention of every mammal that was gathered around the area, and for a very important reason, too. The gong was the official signifier that the tournament was about to begin, and that Leodore would be showing up momentarily.

"The tournament is starting now," Lord Bogo announced with a huff.

Looking up at the stars above him, Jack murmured out loud, "I will avenge you, brother. He will pay for what he has done, and for all the lives he has taken."

* * *

As the noise slowly started to die down, so did the whispering voices of just about everyone that was present. A few seconds afterwards, almost all of the tournament's participants turned their attention to the left of them, just in time to see who they could only presume would be their upcoming opponents coming into view. A diverse array of mammals walked forward, and Leodore was not far behind all of them, cloaked in attire that had flecks dark red and gold upon it.

The large feline positioned himself in the middle of the area, the fighters that were on his team surrounding him on both of his sides. A seemingly wicked smile residing on his muzzle, he stood pridefully against the starlit skies. The gong was struck a second time, and when the sound died off Leodore decided to address those around him.

"Greetings, participants," the lion said. "_I _am Leodore, and I would like to welcome all of you to what will be the one of the most important tournaments in history. Each and every mammal that stands here tonight will fight, and if you manage to defeat the adversaries that stand before you, you will undergo the challenge of trying to face _me_."

A disrespectful snorting sound came from the left, making the heads of just about every mammal turn in its direction.

The figure that produced the snicker was a red fox, donning what looked like emerald-colored attire and a sly grin on his muzzle.

"Shouldn't be that big of a challenge," he scoffed, completely unaware of who exactly he had just made a remark about.

Leodore had apparently heard the vulpine's rhetoric, pausing in the middle of speech to cast a glare in his direction. An awkward few seconds had passed, and the lion pressed onward with his monologue, continuing to speak about the events of the tournament that were yet to come.

The fox turned his head away from everything else in front of him, looking over at the mammal that was standing idly to his left. Beside him was a gray bunny wearing some sort of uniform, who appeared to have some of the most purple eyes he had ever seen.

"Hey there, Carrots," he said to the doe. "The name's Nick Wilde, acclaimed actor and martial artist."

In response to his greeting, the rabbit turned her head the other direction. "Mhmm," she murmured under her breath.

"I've got quite the notable name, if I do say so myself," Nick continued. "Perhaps you recognizable me from some of my iconic roles?" He tilted his head to the bunny, who remained silent. "No? Not even my brief appearance in that Wreck-it Rhino movie rings a bell? Oh well…"

The fox tuned back into the words that were continuing to come out of the coordinator of this event.

Leodore started to point a paw in Nick's direction. "Because he is so certain that this tournament isn't challenging enough, our first participant to fight will be Mr. Wilde."

Upon hearing his name being called out, the vulpine started to slowly walk forward to the middle of the area, where a line had been seemingly made to indicate where the fight was going to take place.

"Showtime," Nick said, assuming the best combat-ready position that he could conjure up. Having had a good bit of martial arts training, this was no difficulty for him.

Leodore turned his attention to his right. "Wolford!" he boomed, pertaining to one of the figures that were standing by his side.

On the opposite side of the makeshift battling area, a timber wolf came faintly into the tod's view. The canid got into a fighting stance, his claws up and his tail swishing. Now ready to face the fox that stood before him, Wolford let out a howl that pierced through the newly-formed silence of the night.

"What is it with wolves and the howling?" Nick murmured under his breath.

"Fight!" Leodore called.

Letting out a low growl under his breath, the timer wolf tried to directly rush up towards the vulpine. Nick, however, knew to immediately dodge his oncoming opponent from what he had been taught in martial arts. The fox blocked a few of the punches that were being thrown at him, and then delivered an unsuspected kick towards the canid.

Wolford had been taken back for a short moment. Nick brought tried to jab at him with his left paw, but the wolf ducked down. As he swiftly got back up, Wolford delivered a fierce uppercut to Nick, one that even _his_ instincts were not prepared for.

It caught him by surprise a little bit, but the vulpine showed no signs of slowing down whatsoever. Nick grunted, ran up a few inches and tried to jab at the wolf with his right paw. Before his fist could even reach his opponent, however, the wolf was no longer in sight. Even though he had just been standing right in the tod's range a second ago, he had mysteriously disappeared.

"What the f-" the fox muttered. "B-But he was just-"

The vulpine was interrupted when he felt something hit him from behind. Even though it was nothing but a clip to his shoulder, it had managed to catch Nick's attention. He quickly turned his body around, seeing that his canid opponent was now behind him somehow. The wolf let out a chuckle, suddenly disappearing once again as the fox tried to throw a cross punch at him.

Nick remained idle for a few seconds, unsure of what exactly he was going to do next. His ears started to perk up, registering the sound of something running up to him from behind him. As the pattering sound of paws sprinting forward got closer in range, the vulpine swiftly spun around with a paw high in the air to try and bring a kick to the now-invisible timer wolf. However, he managed to strike nothing but the air.

The vulpine stumbled temporarily, quickly regaining control of his balance. He could that another unseeable punch was about to hurdled towards him, and he crouched down before he could feel anything else. A sly grin started to from on Nick's muzzle, and he suddenly bolted back upright and swung the most powerful uppercut he possibly could to his opponent.

The wolf, now becoming visible to the eye once again, let out a faint whimper as he found himself lifted off of the ground slightly and falling onto his back.

"You might wanna see a doctor about that," Nick remarked. "That looks like it hurt."

Leodore, who watched every bit of the action from where stood, announced, "Congratulations, Mr. Wilde." After a moment of silence, he added with a booming tone, "Finish him!"

The fox stood there for a moment, looking at tad unsure of what he was supposed to do next. He turned his head to the other participants, who all appeared to be patiently waiting for him to do as the coordinator had instructed him to do. However, he wasn't exactly sure what the lion meant when he said that.

After a momentary pause, Leodore turned his attention away from Nick and back to the others looking over towards him. "Very well," he said. "There will be no more fighting for tonight."

_Well, that ended a lot quicker than I expected, _Nick thought, looking around as Leodore and everyone else went about their separate ways. _Now then, where did that bunny I was talking to before go?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone! Well, the tournament is officially under way, and Nick just won the first battle in it. :)
> 
> Anyone recognize the character that Nick parallels in this story so far? There will be some character parallels like that throughout this story.
> 
> Hoping that I did an okay job on crafting some of the scenery here, as well as the first action sequences in this chapter. As always, let me know what your thoughts were on this. Any feedback, whether it be good or bad, is gladly appreciated.
> 
> 'Til next time! :)


	3. When Nick Met Judy

As Nick was walking his way out of the space where everyone watched him fight against the wolf, he felt a hoof touch him on the shoulder.

"You have great fighting skills," a deep voice said to him.

The fox turned his body around, looking over at a large water buffalo that he could only assume was the one who had given him the positive remark.

"Hey, thanks," Nick said, smiling faintly.

A second figure charged up to Nick, huffing as he did so. The tod looked down to see a jackrabbit standing in front of him, wearing a stern expression written against his muzzle.

The buck informed, "I would consider being a little more respectful than that when you speak to him, fox. Lord Bogo happens to be a living god."

Out of utter disbelief, Nick snickered at the jackrabbit's statement. "He's a _god_?" he asked. "You seriously want me to believe that?"

"What he says is the truth," Lord Bogo replied. "I am a protector of this realm and several others like it. The reason as to why I am here as we speak is because Leodore gave his request for me to do so." The buffalo looked at his hooves. "So I took on this form—that of a common mammal—so I could be here for this important tournament. This is our _only_ way we can defend ourselves from the lion threatens to bring death to this world."

"Sounds like there's a lot of death involved here," Nick stated. "I'm pretty sure that I didn't sign up for that."

Lord Bogo informed, "Your presuppositions are incorrect. The tournament is not about death; it is about the preservation of mammalkind."

The tod replied, "Okay, sure." He turned his back away from the two figures and started to walk out. "Now if you'll excuse me, I got a place that I gotta be."

* * *

The faint but detectable sound of the bunny's voice reached Nick's ears as he slowly strolled along a large bridge. As he started to get closer and closer to who he had been looking for, he could hear her voice becoming clearer.

The tod stopped in his tracks for brief moment, his head cocking over to the side and looking over at some constructions in the distance. The buildings he saw, nothing but silhouettes against the star-studded sky, were what he presumed were lodgings that served as accommodations for those present in the area.

Gazing at nothing in particular, his mind started to reassess everything that he was just told. _This tournament is determining the fate of the world? The lion that's leading the whole thing is trying to conquer all? That buffalo guy I just had that chat with is a _god_?_

As he continued to ponder, a certain thing that the cape buffalo had told him replayed in the back of his head. _The tournament is not about death; it is about the preservation of mammalkind._

"What if everything he said _was _true?" Nick muttered out loud. After a moment, he corrected himself, "No, it can't be."

The rabbit he had been looking for was standing a good stretch away from him, speaking into what he presumed was a radio on her uniform.

"Well, well, well…" an unknown voice, ominous in nature, muttered, interrupting the doe. Although it sounded far away from view, the words were still audible to Nick's ears as he listened from a distance. "We see each other once again, Lieutenant Hopps."

From where he stood, Nick could see a tall, additional shadow creeping into view. Soon he saw the figure of what looked like a large ram slowly approaching the rabbit.

"What do you want, Woolter?" the bunny inquired.

The ram that Nick could only assume was Woolter said, "I've looked forward to us crossing paths like this for a long, long time."

The leporine assumed a fighting position, but found herself being knocked down to the ground by the large ovine. It was quite obvious to Nick that these two apparently had some sort of negative past. _I can't just be a bystander here, _he thought.

"Hey!" the fox exclaimed. His remark sliced through the cold air of the night, causing both the doe and her adversary to turn their heads.

The ram guffawed, his laughter sounding more like a hyena than a sheep. "Looks like Foxy Loxy decided to join in on things," he taunted.

Nick disregarded the rhetoric that was thrown at him. Putting two fists up, he remarked, "You want the bunny, you have to get through _me_ first."

Woolter replied, "You will regret your decisions, you dumb fox. It seems that no one taught ya an important rule:"—He clamped his hooves into fists and gave his neck a stretch—"You mess with the ram, you get the horns."

The vulpine took his ready-for-combat stance. "Bring it," he muttered.

The ovine was the one to throw the first punch, of which Nick immediately knew to block. The two for a good bit of time just continuously attempted to bring a strike to one another, but every jab was instinctively blocked.

Nick delivered a low kick onto the ram, making him stumble in the slightest of ways. Before he fully regained his balance, however, he ended up receiving a swift punch to the gut from the vulpine.

The fox then brought his to swing a cross punch at the sheep, but it was immediately detected and blocked. In response, Woolter put both hooves up and tried to throw two jabs towards the tod. Both punches were blocked with ease, but Nick did not anticipate the powerful kick that sent him falling clumsily to the ground.

Where he had landed happened only a little space away from the edge of what they had been standing upon. His head turning to the side, he caught a faint glimpse of the deep and depressing abyss below them.

_Not today, _Nick thought, picking himself up off of the ground and brushing the dirt out of his fur.

As the fox got back up and prepared himself to continue the fight, Woolter stood there with clenched teeth, looking as if he were about to charge at him with his horns. Surely enough, that was what happened next. Nick ducked down and put his paws over his face, shielding himself from what was about to speedily approach him.

As the ram ran up to the vulpine, he found himself receiving an unexpected uppercut. After regaining composure, the ovine backed up a few inches, broke out into yet another run and jumped up into the air. Nick got back up from his crouched position as Woolter landed right on his hooves, now facing him from the other side.

Nick ran up to Woolter, who let out a small snarl as he clipped his shoulder. He brought his leg up and delivered a high kick, but the sounds of another voice letting out a grunt stopped him from making any additional moves.

The fox quickly turned his head around, seeing that the rabbit was now up and on her paws once again.

"Didn't think you were gonna get rid of _that_ easily, did you, Woolter?" the doe remarked.

"Now it's two against one," Nick chimed in.

Woolter shrugged his shoulders and spat upon the ground, ready to face the two mammals standing before him. The fight carried on as it did before, the gray doe now joining in and giving Nick a considerable advantage.

As much as he hated to admit it, the ram started to lose some of the stamina that he had coursing through him at the beginning of the brawl. The leporine used this to her ability, and hopped up and delivered a small series of swift kicks to the sheep in front of her.

Woolter lost a grip on his balance, and Nick finished him with another uppercut that sent him clumsily tumbling to the ground with a thud.

The fox dusted his paws off. "Whew," he murmured under his breath. Turning over to the rabbit behind him, he inquired, "Do you mind me asking what the whole deal was with that sheep?"

Judy let out a heavy sigh. "At one point, Woolter was actually part of the team that I'm an officer of. He was to help us obtain information about a crime organization, but we soon realized that he actually had ties to the organization's leader. He had been feeding us false intelligence, and a good number of our comrades—some of them actually friends of mine—ended up dying in the line of duty because of his lies."

"Wait a minute, Carrots," Nick replied. "You're… a military officer?"

"Yes," the bunny informed, "and the first female rabbit to join my team, too." She stretched a paw out to fox. "The name's Judy Hopps, by the way. Thanks for helping me, Mr. Wilde."

"Please, call me Nick," he replied, shaking paws with the doe.

"Now then, I have some important matters that I'd _really_ like to resolve."

With that, Judy turned around and walked back out into the dark. His trademark sly grin naturally taking formation against his muzzle, Nick slowly started to follow the leporine from behind.

"Perhaps I could be of assistance?" he asked, breaking the silence.

The rabbit stopped in her tracks, turning her head over to the fox as she started to consider his offer.

* * *

_ **A Few Moments Later...** _

"Damn, this place gets more and more ominous with every step," Nick muttered, continuing his descent with Judy trekking two steps in front of him.

"Just follow my lead and we'll be fine," the doe replied, keeping her voice as quiet as she could.

"Let's review, shall we? We're both descending down an old, narrow set of stairs into the unknown. There's no noise except for me talking and our steps. This is _basically _a manifestation of every movie scene where something jumps out unexpectedly and scares you. And if my observations are correct, some sort of startling noise will break the uncanny silence in _at least_ the next three-"

_Screech!_

A shrill, scraping sound rung out, reminiscent of claws scratching against a blackboard, causing Nick to let out a small gasp upon hearing it.

Shrugging it off, the fox remarked, "Just as I predicted. Having been behind the scenes of a few horror movies in my career, I know a thing or two about these tropes and how they-"

"Nick, shush," she interrupted. "We need to try to keep our voices down just in case."

Nick snickered. "In case of what? This place feels like it's been deserted so far."

"There's no such thing as taking too many precautions."

"Whatever you say, Lieutenant Carrots."

The fox and rabbit, after what felt like a great number of steps, finally reached the end of the crumbling staircase. Where they both found themselves was some sort of dungeon.

Grabbing a flickering torch that was on the nearby walls, Nick lit some of what was in front of them as they inspected the area. Just as the vulpine assumed in his previous remark, the place seemed completely unoccupied. The sounds of water droplets pitter-pattering to the dungeon floor echoed around the space, making the ears of both mammals perk up. An unpleasant odor started to grow stronger as they tiptoed their way through.

"Okay," Nick said, "now that we're in the heart of the creepy dungeon, what are we supposed to be doing again?"

Completely ignoring the tod's inquiry, Judy whispered to herself, "His coordinates indicated that he was close to here before his signal cut out."

Nick continued to follow the leporine from behind as she continued to search the area, although he was a tad unsure what exactly he was supposed to be looking for. She lead him to the right, where the dungeon got a little bit more spacious.

To herself, Judy murmured, "This doesn't make any sense. The coordinates pinpointed him to somewhere around here, and they can't lie." After thinking the possibilities over for a few seconds, she added, "Unless they captured him here and are holding him hostage elsewhere. Either way he needs to escape."

"Halt!" an unidentifiable female voice exclaimed.

Judy stood completely idle where she currently was, and so did the vulpine that was accompanying her on this search. The heads of both the fox and rabbit turned as they spotted a figure making its entrance into the area of the dungeon. Who was standing before them now was a honey badger, with the lion hosting the tournament slowly walking in a few steps behind her.

The honey badger stated, "No one will be aiding anyone's escape!"

Chuckling under his breath, Leodore strolled in closer with a big grin on his muzzle. "Look who we have here," he said. "Why is it that I had a feeling that Ms. Hopps would be snooping around here?"

Judy started to mutter, "You son of a-"

"Now is not the time to call me names, Ms. Hopps," Leodore interrupted. "For you will now face one of your opponents."

_So much for him saying that the fighting was over for the night, _Judy thought.

"Koslov!" Leodore exclaimed, his voice echoing against the dungeon walls.

It was only a few seconds after the lion's booming remark that pieces of ice started to slowly take formation on the floor. Judy watched as the ice mysteriously started outlining the shape of a tall mammal, all before breaking off into pieces and revealing a large polar bear in blue attire.

The doe let out a small sigh and got into her fighting position. All that Koslov did in response was let out a hearty laugh got ready to fight as well.

"Not the talking type, I see?" Judy remarked in reply.

"He has no voice," Leodore informed. "In a deal involving dark forces, his voice was taken in exchange for his powers, of which you will now see for yourself."

The polar bear held his paws out in a position that looked as if he were cupping something in them. As he let out a small grunting noise, what looked like a ball of energy started to form in his grasp. It started to crystalize in Koslov's large paws, and he let out another deep laugh as he demonstrated his ability.

"So what do we got here?" Nick said. "A polar bear thinking he's the princess from Floatzen? Just when ya thought you've seen it all."

"Fight!" Leodore bellowed.

"All right," Judy said to herself, "let's do this."


	4. The World's Fate

The moment that the match commenced, Judy ran forward and jumped into the air a good bit in an attempt to deliver a kick to Koslov. The large polar bear facing her, however, easily deflected it with ease, heartily laughing once again as he did so.

From there, the two got into a pattern of simply blocking each other's oncoming strikes. This carried on for a good period of time, until Judy tried to low kick at Koslov's large feet. He sensed it before it could strike him, however, and he jumped a few spaces back to avoid it. The polar bear, now good distance from the leporine, cupped his paws together once again.

A crystallized ball of ice, similar to what he had demonstrated prior to the fight, started to take shape within his grasp. Once it took on its complete formation, Koslov shot it out of his paws. The moment she saw that it was quickly hurdling towards her, she jumped back and ducked down.

What Koslov had thrown at her landed on the dungeon floor, only a few inches away from where the doe was crouched down. Judy watched as several shards of ice grew from where the crystallized ball landed.

_Better try your best to avoid that ice thing whenever he tries to throw it at you_, she noted in the back of her head.

"You got this, Carrots," Nick rallied from where he stood. "Don't let that-"

"Silence, fox!" a voice boomed, coming from the honey badger that was accompanying Leodore during his entrance.

The badger made some sort of motion with her paws and held them out in Nick's direction.

"Nick!" Judy exclaimed, turning her head in the vulpine's direction upon seeing what was happening.

"Fear not, Ms. Hopps," Leodore, who had been watching from the side, said. "Mr. Wilde is in no harm. As long as he is under the effects of Honey's abilities, he is incapable of moving."

The doe looked over at the fox, seeing that he, just as the lion said, was completely frozen in place and incapable of any sort of movement. A grunt coming from Koslov brought her mind back to the fight, and she immediately dodged the oncoming left paw that tried to swipe at her.

Judy ran forward and jumped up a little bit to strike at her opponent, but was swiftly block by Koslov once again. The polar bear swung his right paw outward, resulting in the leporine getting knocked back a few paces.

Koslov held his paws together once again and produced another ball of ice that Judy knew she was to avoid. The bunny, however, was anticipating that as the bear's next move, and quickly shielded herself from it.

From there, she took a few steps back before breaking out into yet another run. She hopped up as high as she could and sent a series kicks to Koslov's chest in mid-air. What she had done worked quite successfully, much to her surprise, and a grunt was the polar bear's reaction before stumbling backwards.

Seeing that she had won against the white-furred adversary, she remarked out loud, "Done! And now that he's taken care of"—she turned her head in Leodore's direction and pointed towards him—"it's time to deal with _you_!"

However, much to her dismay, yet another unexpected surprise occurred. Judy backed up a few inches as she saw the silhouette of another mammal start to coalesce in front of her. Now standing in front of her was a stern cape buffalo.

Judy huffed. "Another one lookin' for a fight? That's fine."

She speedily approached the buffalo, who flawlessly backflipped into the air to avoid the oncoming leporine. Landing right on his hooves, he assumed a fighting stance, his tail flickering.

"Duck," he muttered.

The rabbit replied, "And why would I do that?"

"Duck!" the figure in front of her exclaimed, his voice louder than the first time.

The cape buffalo put his hooves together and slowly separated them. As he did so, what looked like blue-colored bolts of energy, similar in appearance to lightning, beamed in between them, slowly starting to grow in size. His eyes started to glow an eerie, luminous white, and Judy obediently did as he had suggested and precautiously took a few steps back.

He let out a loud grunt and made the motion of pushing his hooves away from him. The energy bolts discharged from the buffalo's grasp, sporadically scattering across the walls in all directions. It now looked as if there was miniature-sized lightning storm brewing around the circumference of the dungeon.

Judy ducked down as a safeguard against what was currently occurring. Leodore and Honey on the other side of the room were shielding themselves as well.

The moment the honey badger placed her paws over her face to shield herself, completely letting her guard down, Nick became unfrozen and no longer under the unexplainable trance that she had him unknowingly in.

The vulpine blinked his eyes twice, turning his head to the side with a somewhat confused expression now residing on his muzzle. He murmured to himself, "What the hell is goin' on?"

Within a flash, the fox saw one of the scattered bolts of energy hit the wall not even a few inches him. He let out an audible yelp and quickly ran away from the danger.

Instinctively, Nick ran back over to the rabbit he had been accompanying prior to all of the confusion. He turned his head in the other direction, and what his eyes saw made his jaw naturally drop.

"Holy-" was all he could mutter before his mouth was agape once again.

Seeing was believing, and the current sight of the buffalo he had spoken to earlier shooting bolts of energy across the dungeon was _surely_ enough to make him put his doubtfulness behind.

_That other rabbit wasn't lying when he said that, _the vulpine thought.

"Lord Bogo," Nick said.

"This should be enough of a distraction!" the large buffalo said to the fox and rabbit. "You both need to start running."

Judy started, "But-"

"Now!"

The bellowing response was enough of an answer, and Nick and Judy started to quickly make their way to an exit while Leodore was distracted.

As the buffalo placed his hooves down, the energy that had been ricocheting against the dungeon walls started to dissipate. He quickly turned around and started to run behind the fox and rabbit.

"Testing me was the _worst_ mistake you ever made!" Leodore threatened from behind. "This isn't over!"

The buffalo continued to run forward. He put his hooves together and pushed them forward once again. A white curtain of bright luminescence encompassed him and the other two mammals that had been running in front of him.

* * *

As the light disintegrated, Nick, Judy, and Lord Bogo found themselves out of the dungeon and somewhere completely different. The three mammals were now standing by several buildings that were bathed against the fluorescence of the moon. The sounds of the locusts chirping in communication with one another rung in their ears as they all turned their heads and looked around.

"Where are we now?" Nick muttered.

Lord Bogo informed, "The buildings that we're near are accommodations that have been prepared for the participants."

The fox nodded his head, turning it to face the buffalo standing before him. "Look, Lord Bogo, I am dearly sorry for not believing you before-"

The buffalo held up a hoof, interrupting the vulpine. "Your apology is unnecessary. It is all forgiven."

Nick sighed with bit of relief. "Good to know. I honestly don't have a frickin' clue what just happened, but I'm just glad that it's over and we're safe." Turning her attention over to the rabbit beside him, he asked, "What say you, Carrots."

Judy turned her head over to the fox, put on the faintest smile, and nodded.

The sound of another figure slowly approaching greeted the ears of the three mammals. All of them turned their attention to the striped jackrabbit walking towards them in the dark.

"Hey, I remember seeing you," Nick remarked.

"Jack," Lord Bogo greeted.

"Good evening," Jack replied.

The cape buffalo took a deep breath out. "Now that you're all in one place, I can say what I need to." He cleared his throat before continuing. "The three of you, of course, have your own personal reasons for being here, but all three of you have an equal place in defending this world from evil. The fate of millions of innocent mammals is in your paws…"

Nick, Judy, and Jack all remained silent as he continued to speak, never muttering a single word to one another. The three occasionally nodded when they were told something, indicating that they all had been listening closely. Lord Bogo went on to tell them that he had a revelation of what would occur if they did not win this time around, and how one of them particular would be the one who specifically determines the outcome of the world.

Turning his back towards the three buildings serving as accommodations, the buffalo continued, "My best suggestion is for you all to get some rest in preparation for the next part of the tournament."

"Wait a sec," Nick said, following the buffalo as he started to walk away. "You're a _god, _so why couldn't you just face this menace right now? You could probably take him out with one hit, couldn't you?"

Deeply exhaling, Lord Bogo replied, "I'm afraid I cannot. In accordance with the rules, I am unable to do such a thing unless I am challenged by Leodore himself. In my revelation, I was shown that I am _not_ the one who brings an end to the lion's reign. If I did such a thing, I would alter time's natural course, potentially resulting in something equally as drastic." The buffalo turned around and started to walk away. "I will see the three of you at dawn."

With that, Nick simply stood there as Lord Bogo disappeared out of his view.

_He's right, _he thought. _Getting some rest, even if it's a few hours, would be pretty beneficial right now._

* * *

Jack stiffly bolted his head up from the bed. Once again, the dream that went back to the defeat and loss of his brother interrupted what at one point was a nice few hours of rest.

His ears perked up at the sound of a twinkling chime, coming from the decorative dreamcatcher that it been placed within his accommodations. The willow hoop was only hanging a few spaces away from where he had been previously resting, but Jack was already quite certain that it had no effect on his dreams at all.

_So much for that being a sacred charm, _he thought as the dreamcatcher's chime reverberated around the room once more.

From what he could see from out of the nearby window, the sunrise was commencing across the horizon. The skies above were bathed in crimson, and the strong, golden rays of the sun continued to make its ascension.

Still very much awake with no signs of drifting back to sleep, Jack pulled himself out of bed and walked outside. Along with the gorgeous natural wonder known as the sunrise, a gentle breeze was what greeted the buck when he stepped out.

Finding a spot that he found to be the most tranquil, he sat down on the ground, crossed his legs, and started to meditate. As he started to deeply breath in and out, he found the dream that he had just experienced start to dissipate into the back of his mind.

The state of serenity lasted for a good bit of time, up until the moment he opened his eyes again with a deep exhale. After waking up out of his meditation, he decided it was best to start practicing some of the moves that he believed he would have to use in the upcoming fights. Jack did this for a few minutes, but a buzzing sound greeted his ears and disturbed him. The buck paused and looked in the direction that he registered the noise had come from, seeing the outline of Lord Bogo's figure taking shape.

When the cape buffalo made his full appearance, he walked over to the jackrabbit with a faint sigh. "Hello, Jack," he greeted.

"Good morning," the buck replied.

After a brief moment of silence between the two of them, Lord Bogo informed, "The tournament will be continuing momentarily. It will be held at in the courtyard, just like it was the previous night."

Jack nodded in understanding. Just then, he heard the sound of two wooden doors being opened and closed behind him, coming from the other small, distant constructions. A few moments later, the fox and gray rabbit from the other night started to walk out into the early morning daylight.

* * *

_ **A Few Hours Later...** _

With the bright rays of the early afternoon sun now shining against the sky, everyone gathered around the pagoda they were at the previous night. Just as they had done before, each and every mammal that was present waited in silence as Leodore strolled in with an austere expression on his muzzle.

"Greetings, participants!" the lion said, announcing to everyone who was currently in attendance. "I would like to welcome you to the next portion of the tournament." After a brief pause, he added, "Representing my team, the opponent you will face next is… Fangmeyer!"

A tiger started to walk towards the middle of the area that the fight would take place, taking his fighting stance.

Leodore continued, "Whoever is able to defeat him in combat will be transported to another location, where they will face the undefeated Delgato."

After the lion's utterance of that name, there was nothing but silence for a few seconds. Judy looked around at some of the expression on the muzzles of the other participants, unsure of why some of them seemed a bit hesitant.

"I don't understand," she murmured to himself. Looking over at Lord Bogo, who currently stood right beside her, she inquired, "Who's Delgato, and why do some of those guys seem like their a tad fearful of him?"

Omnisciently, Lord Bogo replied, "Delgato is the alias for a trained assassin, and he happens to be the most-skilled in his clan."

"Oh," Judy breathed. "I can see why he's so feared now."

"Which of you standing here believes they have what it takes?" Leodore announced to the crowd.

After another moment of silence, a strong female voice answered, "I will fight!"

The voice came from the left corner, where a trio of hyenas was standing. The one that was in front of the other two, who everyone present presumed was who accepted the challenge, grinned competitively as she extended her claws.

"Give 'em hell, Shenzi!" one of the other hyenas standing behind her cheered.

"Wait!" Nick cried, causing just about everyone to look in his direction. Gulping with a slight sense of nervousness, he remarked, "_I _will fight!"

"Very well," Leodore muttered. The lion outstretched a paw, pointing it in the tod's direction. "Mr. Wilde will once again be the one to fight."

"Yeah," the vulpine remarked, "that's right."

The lion coordinator announced, "Begin!"

Fangmeyer darted towards Nick once the match started, ready to swing a jab in his direction. The fox was quick to shield himself, however, and quickly responded afterwards by jabbing at the feline's shoulder. From there, the vulpine swept at his opponent's feet, knocking him down to the ground in the slightest possible way,

The feline wasn't down for too long, however, and sprinted backwards to get some distance from Nick, who started to grin. The tiger snarled under his breath, crouching down and placing his paws in front of his face. As he did so, they both started to have some sort of green ring of light encircle them.

Fangemeyer stared back at the vulpine. "You will rue your impetuousness," he snarled.

Smirking back at his opponent, Nick replied, "Let's dance."


	5. When Jack Met Skye

The fight between the fox and tiger carried on. Fangmeyer, who remained crouched down on the opposite side of the fighting area, made the motion of lifting something up into the air with both paws. As this happened, Nick found himself being lifted a few inches off of the ground.

The fox found himself caught off guard; the tiger somehow lifting him up into the air without even being near him was the _last _thing he would have predicted. From there, the tiger pantomimed the motion of heaving something closer to him. As he did, the vulpine was sent falling down to the ground, landing closer to the feline.

Nick started to get up on one knee, but quickly ducked his head to shield himself from the oncoming kick being swatted at him.

"Woah, take it down a notch," he murmured out loud, even though he was _quite _certain it wasn't going to magically make his opponent fight any less than he was.

The tiger stuck out a paw, the illumination still encircling it, and Nick found himself being pushed backwards like a tumbleweed blowing in a gust of wind. The fox caught himself and got himself back up in his fighting position rather quickly. The powers that his opponent had started to remind him of one of the shows he was once a part of, which just so happened to involve an uncanny mammal that possessed telekinetic abilities. However, the situation was much more serious than said show, where fighting sequences were rehearsed in advance and the "villains" were just actors.

Nick started to run forward, and Fangmeyer appeared to have the same exact in mind, too. When the two fighters got closer to one another, the vulpine was the one to deliver the next punch. He managed to strike the feline with two small jabs and a kick, up until Fangmeyer tried to high kick at him.

As he sensed it coming near him, Nick crouched down and swiftly deliver his signature uppercut to the unsuspecting tiger, which caused him to stumble backwards a few inches.

Quickly regenerating his composure, Fangmeyer once again pantomimed the action of tugging something towards him, telekinetically drawing the vulpine closer. He swung a paw towards the fox's face, but it was swiftly blocked.

"Too slow on that one," Nick remarked slyly.

The fox spun around as he made a wide sweep of his left leg, sending a roundhouse kick towards Fangmeyer. From there, Nick used the feline's current staggering to his advantage, delivering a fast jab from both paws and a forceful kick that sent his opponent falling to the ground.

When Leodore confirmed from where he was standing that the match was over, the tod sighed with the slightest bit of relief. He might have won this match, but he knew that he had a second opponent that was part of the challenge he accepted.

"Mr. Wilde," Leodore remarked, approaching the victorious fox. "You have completed the first part of the challenge, but you still have yet to face the undefeated Delgato."

"Well, what are we waitin' for?" Nick muttered.

Some sort of white circle started to form underneath the vulpine's feet, and he looked down at it quizzically.

The lion in front of him held out a stiff paw. "To the Living Forest with you!" he declared.

Within a few seconds, the circle below Nick's paws beamed upward, environing him.

* * *

Suddenly, the previous scenery of the pagoda and the land that surrounded it faded away, being replaced with what the fox could only assume was the forest that the lion was pertaining to.

Nothing but trees was what encircled him on both sides, a scant amount of sun light peaking through some of them. However, these were far from ordinary trees that could be spotted on any ordinary hiking trail. Some of them looked as if they had shadowy faces carved into them. They almost felt sentient to Nick, like they watching him as he cautiously stepped forward.

_Get a hold of yourself, _the fox thought. _Those trees are _not _watching you. The faces you're seein' on 'em are probably just tactics to scare trespassers away from this place._

Suddenly, a low guttural sound arose from far left, making him stop in his tracks. He cocked his head in that direction, but there was nothing there that could have made such an uncanny growl. Nothing was here accept him and the trees.

"It couldn't have been," he told himself, now feeling a little bit creeped out. "Trees don't do that. That's impossible. You should hear how ridiculous you sound thinking that-"

A figure suddenly emerged from the shadows, making him dismiss the dilemma regarding the strange noises of the forest entirely. Nick looked as a lion in yellow clothing walked out into view.

"So… you must be Delgato," the fox said.

For a good bit of time, his new opponent didn't say a word in response to him, simply continuing to stare menacingly in his direction. Nick got closer to the feline he would be facing.

After a long pause, the lion bellowed, "Come here!"

Nick saw a wide-bladed spear attached to a long piece of rope hurdled towards him. Letting out a small yelp, the fox ducked down before it could come into contact with him.

The only thing that the spear managed to strike was one of the gigantic trees, of which now had a fairly-sized hole right where it had landed.

Getting himself back up, Nick sarcastically muttered, "Well… _that _was very welcoming."

From there, the vulpine broke out into a sprint, going as fast as his paws could physically carry him. Delgato remained completely still, neither ducking nor preparing to strike back. The moment that Nick got as close as he could, bringing his left paw out to swing it, the lion grabbed a hold of his shoulders.

Within an instance, the fox noticed the creepy surroundings that the forest provided was started to evanesce. The next thing he knew, he was solitarily standing on the grounds of somewhere completely different.

Looking around at his new environment, Nick felt the smallest shiver run down his spine. The only things his eyes in the could really see were large chasms of fire, located a good height below the rickety wooden platform he found himself standing upon.

The thunderously pungent odor of sulfur greeted his nostrils, coming from down below, and sweat started to trickle down his face. As the vulpine wiped it off, he turned his head to his right. The moment his attention went in that direction, he saw what appeared to be a skull of some sort, making him instinctively gasp upon seeing it.

_This place almost makes that creepy forest not seem so bad_, he thought.

Nick sensed a deep voice speaking to him from behind, and he swiftly spun around to see Delgato standing there. The moment he turned his body around towards the lion, the fox ended up receiving an unforeseen uppercut.

The lion quickly extended his right paw outward, but the punch was immediately obstructed. From there, the fox delivered two fast jabs and a low kick towards his feline rival.

With every swift movement that the fox made, he could feel the platform wobble underneath him and hear it as it creaked. He tried to disregard those factors, however, setting his primary focus on defeating this "undefeated opponent" and somehow making it out of wherever he was now.

Delgato started to get closer and closer, and Nick jumped a few steps back before delivering a kick to the lion's chest.

The fox backed up once again, his head sagging down to his right. What his eyes first saw, scattered amongst the ruin around him, was some sort of narrow blade with a ring-shaped handle on its pommel. Thinking on impulse, the vulpine picked it up and quickly tried to decipher a way he could use it to his advantage.

The fox got ready to throw it, but suddenly noticed that Delgato was no longer in view when his attention turned back to what was in front of him.

The next thing he knew, a kick from behind him knocked him down onto the rickety wood, quite close to the edge of where he and his opponent stood. The spear that he had just found flew out of his grasp, unfortunately falling from the platform and into the unknown below him.

The lion let out a laugh under his breath as he slowly approached the vulpine, who slowly but steadily picked himself back up.

From there, Nick sent a swift kick to the large feline's chest. It was now becoming visible that Delgato was losing some of the stamina he originally at the beginning of the brawl, whether the lion of few words wished to confess to it or not.

An abrupt roundhouse kick was what Nick attempted next, but his rival foresaw it, and responded with another uppercut.

"_This _is where your life will come to its end," Delgato boomed.

The lion put both paws up and tried to send two punches towards the vulpine. Both jabs were immediately blocked by Nick. A small barrage of jabs and a low kick later, it was his opponent that now found himself near the edge of platform.

"Not today," the fox remarked.

* * *

** _Meanwhile…_ **

"The next challenge is about to begin!" Leodore announced, getting everybody's attention.

The next mammal to approach the left side of the fighting area was a female cheetah, who gazed over at the opponent that she would soon be facing. On the opposite side, an arctic vixen with a lithe figure came into view, doing a high kick in the air before taking her position.

The match between the two quickly commenced. The cheetah speedily swung her left paw towards her rival, quickly following it up with a kick from her powerful legs. The fox, however, was quick in regaining her composure, and responded with a barrage of strikes that sent the cheetah staggering rearward.

Jack simply observed the brawl from the side as it carried on. He watched as the vixen elegantly fought, blocking almost every jab that was sent in her direction. Although she was on Leodore's team, the lagomorph couldn't help but admit to himself that her fighting skills were excellent.

"Who is she?" Jack mouthed out loud.

Overhearing the buck's inquiry, Lord Bogo informed, "Her name is Skye. She is the heiress to her realm's throne."

The rabbit turned his attention away from the buffalo and back to the fight. It quickly started to its close a few moments later, with the the vixen he now knew was named Skye being the victor of it.

Shortly afterwards, Leodore found himself uttering the loudest of sighs.

"I sense," the lion muttered, loud enough for others to hear him, "that Delgato has been defeated." Leodore sagged his head down, audibly muttering a few curses under his breath before turning his attention back to the crowd. Despondently, he held a stiff paw outward. "I shall transport Mr. Wilde back here," he added.

A few inches away from where he stood, a circle of light, identical to what he had conjured to transport the fighter, coalesced upon the ground.

Within a few seconds, Nick reappeared before the crowd, looking around in a confused fashion after having been rapidly transported back to the area. Realizing where he was once again, the vulpine put on his trademark smirk.

"And this is Fox, returning to base," the tod remarked as he made his reappearance.

Turning around to leave, Leodore addressed, "That will be enough fighting for now. The tournament will resume at a later time."

The first thing Nick's eyes caught sight of was a small gray paw waving towards him in the distance. The source of it was none other than Judy, who had been anxiously waiting to see if he managed to survive the challenge. The vulpine walked back over to where the doe had been standing, right next Jack and Lord Bogo.

* * *

** _Later…_ **

Jack stood in complete solitude as he watched the sunset, the magnificent hues of orange and gold making their mark against the sky above him. Whenever he gazed at the natural wonder known as the sunset, it always reminded him of his brother. After training was complete, about an hour or so before nightfall, it was an almost-everyday occurrence for the two of them to go out and try to catch glimpse of it.

"You see those colors in the sky—all of those pretty reds and oranges and such?" he remembered his brother saying to him once. And when Jack nodded his head in that moment, he said, "All of them symbolize good things—strength, happiness, prosperity and the like—that are yet to come."

"But what about the dark that comes when those colors fade away?" Jack recalled asking. "What does that mean then?"

His brother, from what he could recall, patted him on his shoulder and replied, "It depends on how you wish to look at things. The darkness is associated with despair, but whenever we experience pain or sadness, we must know that light and joyous things will eventually come our way."

His mind coming back to the present moment, Jack wiped away the tear forming in his eye. Turning his body away from the sunset, he took a deep breath and started to practice his fighting abilities once again.

He solitarily did so for a good bit of time, but started to hear some sort of grunt come from behind him. Before he could turn his head around and see who was there, he felt himself getting kicked to the grassy ground below him.

Jack quickly managed to get himself up, seeing who it was exactly that successfully managed to catch him off guard. Standing before him was none other than the vixen named Skye from the match he had watched earlier.

Skye sent a low kick in the buck's direction, but he managed to get out of the way before he could get hit. From there, the arctic fox reached into the pocket of her uniform and pulled out a closed-up folding fan, which had a row of small blades on the edges of it that became visible when she opened it. When she threw it, Jack immediately crouched down as low as he possibly could.

"Woah!" Jack exclaimed as he shielded himself.

The bladed fan soared higher into the air, eventually striking the trunk of a distant tree with very few leaves left on it.

Once the buck got back up, the two started to exchange jabs, all of which were blocked by one another. Shortly afterwards, Jack spun his body around to try and bring a roundhouse kick to his opponent. The vixen he was facing dodged it, however, and delivered a jab to the buck in response.

Jack stepped back a few spaces in defense, catching his breath just a little bit.

The jackrabbit reassumed his position. The arctic fox started to rush towards him. She swung her left paw out in a cross punch, low kicking him near his chest a second later, causing him to totter back a few inches.

From there, the lagomorph responded with a series of small jabs. Backing up a few spaces, he broke into a run before jumping up and bringing a powerful uppercut to the fox, the force of it enough to send her stumbling to the ground.

"You fight well," Jack complimented.

Skye was now on her knees. As the buck slowly approached her, she gazed back up at him and muttered, "I… I have failed."

"What are you talking about?" the jackrabbit inquired.

The vixen replied, "After hearing what Leodore said of you, I came to ensure that you didn't make it to the final challenge. I have failed to do, and in doing so I have failed _him_ in a way." Sighing heavily, she added, "Being at his beck and call, tracking down and taking the lives of the mammals that _he_ sees as a threat, was a life I never asked for. But I guess that is my given fate."

Jack could sense that she was being truthful with her last statement. "My brother once told me that our fate lives within us." He outstretched a paw, assisting her get back up off of the ground. "This never happened. You didn't fail to do anything, and you didn't fail Leodore."

As the rabbit turned the other direction, Skye muttered, "Duke…"

Jack turned his head back around. "What is it?" he asked.

"Duke Weaselton," the fox replied informatively. "That is the name of who will possibly be your next match. You must take heed of this: Channeling your energy will aid you in the fight against _any_ mammal, big or small."

The buck nodded his head. "I will keep your advice in mind," he replied. "And I hope that we cross paths another time."


	6. Channeling The Energy

A few hours passed since the darkness smothered the last bit of light left in the sky. Jack continued stroll down the cobblestone path in front of him, the passageway he walked along illuminated by nothing but a few torches distantly glowing on both sides.

Jack's walking pace slowing down upon him seeing the figure of a thin weasel coming into view. Judging immediately by the devious grin that was sent in his direction, the buck knew that this was Duke, the one that the vixen he had encountered told him about prior to this moment.

The advice that he had been given echoed in his head yet another time: _Channeling your energy will aid you in the fight against any mammal._

After pondering for a good bit of time on the vixen's words, he remembered a moment in which something was said unto him that was similar to what he had just been told. The lessons they had been receiving from their sensei, an old and wisdom-filled echidna, regarded the energy of inner chi, and how blasts of energy could be created with it if done correctly. Jack, even now, still considered himself to be a beginner when it came to said concept, and he hoped that the practice that he had was at least enough to help him take down his opponent.

Glaring at the leporine, the weasel snickered. "So this is the one that Leodore told me to make sure's eliminated from the tournament. Had I known that I was sent to face a _rabbit, _I would've-"

"Silence, Wesselton!" Jack snapped, interrupting his new opponent's rhetoric.

"That's _Weaselton _to you," Duke corrected. "_Duke_ Weaselton."

The buck huffed, taking his fighting position. "Bring it."

As Jack swung his left paw forward, the weasel in front of him held a paw firmly outward, blocking the punch as he toothily grinned. The rabbit, huffing shallowly under his breath, brought his right paw out next, only to have it blocked as well.

Duke managed to strike the leporine with a low kick to his left leg, making him step back a few spaces. With a grunt, Jack attempted to strike his opponent with an over hand punch, but he unfortunately ducked before he could get hit. However, the mustela ended up receiving an unpleasant high kick to the jaw when he got back up.

The weasel stumbled, rubbing his left paw over the area for only a second. With a wicked gleam now in his eyes, he snarled at the lagomorph that had successfully managed to catch him off guard. The weasel tried to send an equally powerful high kick in Jack's direction, but the jackrabbit was faster than him and dodged it with ease.

The buck, however, did not anticipate the two swift jabs that Duke sent next. Jack dodged quickly shielded himself from a third punch that came near him, responding to it with an uppercut.

Quickly reclaiming his equanimity, Duke managed to hit the lagomorph with an even more powerful strike. Jack found himself tottering backwards, but quick regained his balance. From there, he took a few steps back and started to dart forward. As he gained momentum, the rabbit leaped into the air and attempted to deliver a kick to his opponent while in the air.

The weasel crouched down to evade the oncoming flying kick. Grinning widely once again, Duke spun himself around and managed to fiercely roundhouse kick the lagomorph that sought to defeat to the cobblestone ground.

Jack felt a bit of pain course through the side of his body that he landed on. The sound of the weasel's unpleasant laughter filled the air.

Thinking on impulse, the rabbit ran forward, speedily throwing several jabs that were immediately obstructed. Duke responded with yet another powerful kick that made Jack hit the ground once again.

Upon getting back up, the buck managed to strike his opponent with a low kick to his right leg. As the weasel stuttered hesitantly, the leporine took that moment to his advantage and successfully managed to hit him with a fierce jab.

"Channel your energy!" a voice called out, coming from the rabbit's right.

Jack turned his head in the direction of the sound, seeing that the arctic vixen he had encountered earlier was present. She stood a few spaces away from the lit torch that was the area's only light provision.

In the second that Jack let his guard down and looked at his right, however, Duke managed to strike him with an overhand punch. Shortly afterwards, instinctively backed himself up a few spaces.

"My advice to you would be to just forfeit while you still can," the mustela taunted. "_Unless _you want Leodore to claim your soul, just like he has done to all of the other rabbits that dared to fight him."

Jack grunted under his breath. The traumatic memory of his brother's soul being claimed after he was defeated by Leodore repeated itself in the back of his head. _I will _not _give up on what I have set out to do! _he thought to himself. _I will bring that lion's reign to its end and make sure that he gets what he deserves for what he has done._

The weasel broke out into a swift run, his left paw already clenched into a tight fist. As he did so, the buck held out his paws in front of him like he was holding some circular object in between them, praying internally that what he was doing would work. Doing as he was advised and channeling his energy, his inner chi, an orangish-yellow ball of light, similar in color to a newly-kindled flame, took formation in his grasp.

As Duke leaped up into the air a few inches, ready to deliver a fierce punch, Jack simply turned his head the other direction and placed his paws over his face. When he did so, the fireball shot from out of his grasp, hitting his opponent directly and causing him to be flung backwards a good distance. The weasel hit the ground with an audible thump, now unable to continue.

Uttering a sigh, Jack turned around and started to walk his way over to where the vixen that had ushered him the advice was standing.

"I must that I am impressed," the vixen stated. "You have more skill in the art of channeling inner chi that I had anticipated."

"What are you doing here?" Jack asked in reply.

The vixen said, "You told me before leaving that you hoped we would cross paths another time, so I came to ensure that you remembered my words." Invitingly, she extended her paw. "Come."

Jack followed Skye as she started to walk down the path, although he remained unsure of where exactly she was taking him to after they got out off of this area.

As they walked along in silence, the buck's eyes darted towards series of large statues that stood a good distance away to his right. All of them were carved in the likeness of some of the fighters that defended the world in the past. The rabbit was able to recognize some of the mammals that were depicted in the carvings. A good number of adventurous stories circulated about the great feats of these fighters, and Jack always remembered being present whenever one of them was spun.

As he glared over at the tall statues, squinting his eyes slightly to read the words engraved below them, some of the tales Jack heard about the fighters started to come back to him.

The vixen made a left turn, and Jack walked behind her as she lead him into a field of grass. After a little bit more walking, the two started to come to a hill with nothing but a solitary tree on top of it.

The two of them reached the top of the hill, and a soft, gentle gust of wind was what welcomed them both as they stopped in their tracks. After a brief pause, Skye lead Jack behind the large tree in the middle of the area, the ground surrounding it littered with fallen cherry blossoms.

Jack inquired, "Are you not worried that Leodore could possibly catch you here?"

The white-furred vulpine remained silent. It was becoming quite clear to Jack that, despite all of the authority he had and the things he had done, Skye had no fear of the lion in which he spoke of.

After her moment of silence, Skye finally remarked, "You possess the two attributes that every fighter needs: a kind soul and a strong heart. Leodore hasn't fully understood yet that you're only half the fighter you can be without those two things."

Jack listened attentively as the vixen went on to give him advice that she presumed would be useful in future matches, as well as some things to keep in mind should he face certain members of Leodore's team. When the vulpine in front of him was finished speaking, the lagomorph nodded his head and gazed out at the views that he could see from the height that he was looking out from.

A few minutes later, the leporine turned his head to the side looked back at the elegant vulpine in front of him. Smiling faintly at her, he said, "I must be going now. I cannot thank you enough for lending me that extra advice." He turned around and made his way over to the path they had previously walked up. "I hope that we-"

"Cross paths another time?" Skye interrupted. "I hope that we can as well."

Jack nodded at her before turning back and started to make his descent. Once he reached the bottom of the hill he heard a sort of rustling sound that made him stop dead in his tracks. He slowly turned his head to the right, but nothing was there except the flowering bushes sitting against the hillside.

The buck simply shrugged his shoulders and continued to stroll along, the destination in mind being where the accommodations were located.

Little did the lagomorph know that when he heard the sound, there truly _was_ someone present.

* * *

The hillside shrub, consisting of small yellow blossoms, bristled once more, as if something was stealthily creeping through it. The sound of large paws crunching against the grassy ground was what reverberated next within the night.

The noise came from none other than Honey, who had overheard a good majority of the discussion between Skye and the striped rabbit who had just walked past.

The honey badger slowly peaked her head up, trying not to make any other sudden noises as she looked at the arctic vixen who remained on the top of the hill. The fox hadn't heard a sound, and was currently looking out onto the horizon in solitude.

_She was just lending information to that rabbit, _Honey thought. _I will inform the members of Leodore's team. We must ensure that what she did doesn't go unpunished._

* * *

_ **Meanwhile...** _

Nick felt the wind coursing against his fur as he looked out the window of the bijou structure that served as his accommodation. After another crazy, eventful day of combat, relaxing and maybe getting a few hours of rest was _definitely_ in the vulpine's best interest.

The fox backed up away from the window, being careful not to accidentally bump into the side of the small bed like he had done the previous night.

Exiting the place, he strolled out into the expanse of tall grass and flowers that had closed their petite, colorful petals for the night. He walked around for a good bit of time with no destination in mind, eventually stumbling across a low-level bush that happened to have one of his favorite things growing upon it.

His eyes lit up upon seeing that bush had some small blueberries growing upon it, the color of some of them indicating that they were ready to be picked. The vulpine plucked a few off and started to pop them into his mouth, their sweet taste refreshing him.

Just before turning around, he grabbed a few more that appeared to be ripe and held them in a cupped paw as he walked away. On the walk back, he spotted a certain gray doe sitting on a patch of grass had been drier than the rest of it. Her head appeared to be peaking upward, as if she was surveying the sky above her.

"Hey, Carrots," he greeted, plopping down onto the ground a few inches away from where Judy was. Holding one of the indigo-colored berries in between his two fingers, he kindly offered, "Blueberry?"

"No thanks," she muttered in reply.

"More for me, I guess," the fox remarked.

"You really like blueberries?" Judy inquired, observing the fox as he consumed the rest of the berries he still had in his paw.

The vulpine nodded his head. "Mhmm," he replied. "If there's one thing you must know about me, it's that I can never get enough of those beauties."

The leporine laughed under her breath, turning her head away from the tod and back to the sky above her. After a moment of silence, she asked, "So what is it like being an actor, starring in all of these crazy movies and what not?"

With a shrug of his shoulders, Nick said, "I'll be honest with ya: it has its ups and downs, but the good moments always outweigh the bad ones. That's how I like to look at things, at least…"

Judy listened attentively as the fox went on to give her tidbits about some of his favorite roles. He told him a little bit about his acting debut in a western drama show, as well as his most recent part in a horror movie about a phenomenon in which animals mysteriously reverted back to their feral forms and started to walk on all fours again.

After Nick had finished speaking, the doe looked away and grabbed her communication device that laid on the ground beside her. She once more glimpsed at the information that it showed regarding the last detected signal. After looking at it another time, she simply clicked the device off and clipped it back onto the side of her uniform.

"Don't worry, Carrots," the vulpine to the left of her murmured. "I promised that I'd help you find him, and I will do just that. No matter what it takes."

Judy peaked her head back up, faintly smiling back at him for just a moment.

Nick slowly started to get up from off of the ground. "Well, I'd said it's about time for me to go and try to get some rest," he said. As he started to walk away from the rabbit that remained where she was sitting, he turned his head back around and added, "Goodnight."

* * *

_ **The Next Day...** _

The firmament was painted with a dark gray hue, giving off the implication of an oncoming storm. Skye walked against the overcast horizon, thinking about the conversation she had with the jackrabbit the previous night.

As she continued to stroll forward, going about with her own business, her ears registered the sounds of something running across the grass. She cocked her head to both the left and the right, but nothing was visible, and an uncanny silence stirred around her. As she looked around, she felt the first few droplets of rain hit her white fur.

Just then, without any warning, she felt herself being high kicked from behind her. The forcefulness of it was enough to cause her to clumsily stumble to the ground. Skye didn't see anything at first when she peaked her head back up to see who was there, but the figure of a grinning timber wolf suddenly coalesced before her.

The arctic vixen quickly got back up on her paws again. The next thing she knew, two figures started to walk into view. A brown stoat and the honey badger that represented Leodore now stood behind the wolf. The expression on the muzzles of the three mammals now surrounding her implied that they were ready to engage in combat.

As the three took what she assumed was their fighting positions, Skye confusedly said, "What are you doing? I don't want to fight any of you. I'm just passing through."

"A traitor who says she doesn't wish to fight?" the stoat of the group remarked with a snicker.

"What are you talking about?" the vixen asked.

"You were talking with the rabbit that belongs to this realm's team," the honey badger chimed in. "We no longer have need of someone who secretly gives advice to our adversaries. You will stand before Leodore and confess your deeds."

Taking her own fighting stance, she muttered, "Guess I _will _be fighting you three."

* * *

_ **Later...** _

All of the remaining fighters had been summoned to the grand area that was Leodore's throne room.

It had been a good thing that the next matches would be taking place in an indoor environment, considering the current weather conditions. It was just within the last hour that an unpleasant storm came to pass. Everyone present could hear the raindrops as they hit against the room's tall windows, as well as hear the stentorian clapping of thunder that occasionally resonated against the walls.

The throne room was a grand spectacle to the eyes of those who stood inside of it. The spacious walls were adorned some of the most exquisite decor, and the flooring underneath everyone that had gathered was made of shiny marble. In the very middle of the room was none other than Leodore's throne, two gold-colored statues sculpted in the likeness of scaly dragons surrounding it on both sides.

The lion sat upon the large chair in the middle of the room, watching attentively as the current fight continued in front of him. The match was between a large bear and a kangaroo (who represented Leodore's team). Judging from the last few seconds that he had observed, the feline could visibly see that the marsupial that was on his side was who was going to be the clear winner.

The bear was evidently starting to lose stamina, and the small kicks that she sent in the kangaroo's direction had little effect. The grizzly jabbed at his opponent, who dodged it effortlessly and responded with a fierce kick with his hind legs. The kick ended up being powerful enough to send him stumbling backwards, and with that Leodore confirmed that the match had reached its end.

"Flawless victory," the lion muttered, grinning widely. "And with that, Kuma has now been eliminated from the tournament." Straightening his back against the large chair he sat in, he looked at the remaining fighters and said, "Who else among you believes that they are capable of taking him on? Remember that you take on a mystery opponent if you manage to defeat him in combat."

Responding to the beckoning, a muscular jaguar with spotted black fur rushed forward. "I accept the challenge!" he remarked as everyone in the room looked over at him.

"Very well," Leodore muttered. Looking at the others present, he announced, "In that case, the next challenger will be Manchas!"

As the tigress that had just been defeated got up and walked over to the corner of the room, the jaguar approached his marsupial opponent and took his fighting stance.

"Prepare to have your ass handed to ya, mate," the kangaroo taunted.

After a few seconds, Leodore announced, "Fight!"

With that, the match commenced, the kangaroo being the one to deliver the first strike. The jaguar quickly got his composure back and responded with a barrage of swift jabs, all of which were easily evaded.

From there, Manchas jumped on one leg and attempted to strike his opponent with his knee. The kangaroo managed to block the oncoming blow, responding with his signature hind-leg kick that sent the jaguar stumbling rearward. However, the spotted black feline was quick on his paws, and didn't stay down on the ground for too long.

The fight carried on in a similar manner for a good bit of time, and, despite not doing too well in the beginning, Manchas managed to be the winner of it.

After the marsupial opponent was defeated, Leodore grunted under his breath. As almost everyone within the throne room gave the victorious jaguar their congratulations, the tall lion in his chair slow-clapped with an evident amount of sarcasm. He simply turned his attention over to all of the others that were congratulating him, grinning pridefully.

"Congratulations, Mr. Manchas," Leodore snarled, getting the jaguar to turn his head in his direction. "You may be the winner of _this _round, but do you truly believe you are ready to take on your next opponent? Even though his fighting abilities are unlike anyone you have possibly fought before?"

"I am ready," Manchas replied.

The lion nodded his head, understandingly. "Very well." He looked over at the other fighters that had been watching. "Your next opponent will be-"

The large doors that served as the entrance to the room were unanticipatedly bolted open.

An ocelot rushed inside and over towards the lion on the throne, his fur soaked from the heavy downpour he had endured outside. "Sir!" he cried, his breath sounding a tad shallow.

Leodore glared over at who had unexpectedly approached him. "There better be a logical reason for why come _barging_ in here in the middle of a-"

The ocelot gestured for the lion to lean closer towards him, stopping him in the middle of his loudly-uttered words. Leodore listened as the feline in front of him started to discreetly whisper into his ear, alerting him about what Honey had reported to his team.

The lion's eyes widened at the news he was given, but quickly put on a more natural expression, nodding his head and getting himself up from out of his seat. Looking at the other mammals that remained congregated in the room, he announced, "I am afraid that I have a matter that I must attend to. The succeeding matches will commence later in another location."

* * *

** _Later…_ **

"Indescretion!"

Leodore turned his body around, pacing over to a nearby table that was located in the righthand corner of the dimly-lit space. He fiercely slapped the shiny platter off of it, as well as the empty bejeweled goblet that rested beside it.

The large feline looked as if he was at boiling point as he glared back at the vixen standing before him.

In an unpleasant tone of voice, he snarled, "How is it that _you_, the supposed heiress your world's throne, are seen having a conversation with the buck that seeks to _kill _me? Do you realize how jeopardizing you doing such a thing is, Skye? Because it's _pretty_ clear to me that you don't understand the consequences of your-"

"Uh, sir?" a faint, nervous-sounding voice called out.

Leodore turned his head to the right side of the room, seeing the figure of another lion, young and auburn-furred, peaking in from around the corner. "Not now, Kovu," he muttered.

"Oh, okay, it was just that I needed your approval on the-"

"Not. Now! Do I make myself clear?" Once the other lion quickly darted out of sight, Leodore let out a heavy sigh. Looking back over in Skye's direction, he continued, "I've given you _every_ opportunity to be a great leader of my team, and _this _is what you decide to do instead?" He fiercely pointed a paw near her face. "Why were you speaking to that rabbit?"

"I... I never asked for this way of life," the vixen stated, standing up for herself. "I wish to make my own legacy."

"This way of life is your _fate_!" The large feline bellowed. "That other vixen I was going to select before you would have _killed _to have the position that I handed to you. Do you realize that? Apparently not, because you just want to throw it all away to chase this 'legacy' you think you're magically going to make on your own. You would have gotten _nowhere _if it hadn't been for me!"

"Our fate lives within us," Skye said, quoting the buck's words from when they first encountered one another. "Not in the minds of others."

Leodore took several steps back, chuckling under his breath. His overall expression implied that his patience had officially expired, and that he would not tolerate anymore foolishness.

"You think you're so wise, don't you?" he murmured. Turning his back to the arctic fox and looking over to his left, he called out, "McHorn!"

A few seconds later, a sturdy rhino ran into the room and made himself present, a lit torch in his grasp. Placing the firebrand on the ornamental holder on the wall, he quickly approached the lion that had summoned him. Trailing not even two inches behind the ungulate was a tall elephant. Both of them bowed their heads respectfully as they made their full appearance in the room.

Pointing to the rhino and elephant, the lion commanded, "Send her away to The Towers, and make sure she's placed under the _best_ security! Let this be an example to anyone who believes they have more wisdom than I do."

The mentioning of that place made the two mammals Leodore summoned shudder slightly. Throughout the duration of the lion's reign, if he did not wish for someone's immediate death, he typically had them escorted to the dreadful location that was The Towers. It was within the walls of those constructions that he kept those he found treacherous imprisoned.

The rhino and elephant grabbed a hold of the vixen, who started to kick and fuss as they started to escort her to where the lion instructed them to take her. Honey, who had been standing in the corner of the room, followed the guards as they obeyed their command.

"You won't get away with this!" Skye exclaimed. "Your reign will come to its end! I'll-"

"That's enough out of you!" Honey interrupted, making a motion with her paws. As she did so, the arctic vulpine was placed in some sort of trance by the honey badger, and she suddenly stopped trying to escape the clutches of the guards.

As she was taken away, Leodore nodded his head, letting out the smallest chuckle he could conjure.

_Now that I have that problem taken care of, I can return back to what is important: Making sure that this realm loses completely so I can absorb it into mine._


	7. Exploration

"That is all for this evening," Leodore announced to the fighters as most of them started to got their separate ways for the night. "We shall enter the next stages of the tournament tomorrow morning. And to those who have endured and progressed this far, I want to give you my wholehearted congratulations."

_Sure you do, _Judy thought to herself.

It was quite evident to the rabbit, as well as almost everyone there, that the lion was lying through his teeth when he made that remark. She was quite capable of spotting a false sense of generosity, and this was one of those occasions that she did quite easily.

The sun was making its daily disappearance for the night as she started to walk out of the courtyard after watching another round of eventful combat.

Just as Leodore said when they were interrupted back in the throne room, Manchas went up against his next opponent, and he did prove to be unlike anything that he had fought before. The black jaguar had been easily defeated by said foe, only managing to get one punch and one kick in during that fight. After he had been eliminated from the tournament, a number of other mammals went up against the rivals that still remained within Leodore's group of fighters.

Judy made her way over to the courtyard's ornate gates, hanging wide open with vines growing upon them. Walking out to the unpaved passageway that split in two directions, she saw some of the fighters communicating with one another.

Without any warning whatsoever, the noisy, crackling sound of static resonated right next to her. The doe, spooked by the suddenness of the noise, jumped a little bit with her ears perked. She quickly patted the side of her uniform and picked up her communicator.

The hissing sound of the static got louder, and within it she could start to hear the sounds of someone talking. However, who was speaking was not just anyone, but the specific member of her crew that she had previously searched back in the dungeons.

The voice on the other end started to say something, but the words sounded distorted and incoherent due to the weak signal. The screen of her device started show nothing but zeroes on where the latitude and longitude was supposed to be. Wherever he was, the coordinates of his signal could not be triangulated.

Judy quickly pressed the button on the side of her communicator and held it up to her mouth. "Travis?" she replied, her words coming out of her in a rapid fashion. "Travis, this is Commander Hopps. What is your status? Are you in need of a medic?"

Due to the terrible amount of static, only spits and spurts of the response could be heard clearly. "I'm at... Passed the crypt… Temple… Inside the-"

The voice that was informing her became completely muffled.

"That's enough outta you!" a mysterious voice, fiendish in tone, snarled over the speaker. "Confiscate that!" it added, presumably pertaining to what Travis was currently using to communicate. "Escort him away from here and take him to the-"

Before Judy could hear anything else, however, the signal cut out entirely. "Dammit," she uttered to herself. "Take him to the what?"

The gray leporine clipped her communicator back on to her uniform and started to walk again, this time in a more rushed fashion than before.

_I must tell Nick and the others about this, _she thought.

* * *

"I could only get a few words out of what he was trying to tell me," Judy said. "The signal just kept going in and out, and that was-"

"Wait a minute, Carrots," Nick interrupted. "Where'd you say he was telling about again?"

Judy shook her head. "I have no clue where he meant," she replied. "All I could comprehend was somethin' about a crypt and a temple. But I'm not exactly certain what he meant by that."

"I believe that I know where he was pertaining to," Lord Bogo said, joining in on the conversation. "I don't think he was just talking about _a _crypt; he was trying to tell you about _the Krypt_."

Hesitantly, the doe responded, "I-I don't understand. What is that?"

"That place, as well as the path that leads to it, is best described as being very treacherous," the buffalo informed. "An old and abandoned temple that belonged to the Lin Kuei stands within the perimeter of it—that could very well be the temple he was hinting at."

"Okay then," Judy said. "We'll head over there and search the area."

She turned her attention over to where the vulpine was standing. He nodded his head, willing to accompany her on her exploration regardless of how hazardous it might be.

"If that is what you wish to do," Lord Bogo said, "we will head there when the sun has fully set."

* * *

_ **Later...** _

Nick, Judy, Jack, and Lord Bogo all stood against the encroaching darkness. A fairly-sized gust of wind rushed by, and the susurration of fallen leaves blowing in the breeze was the first sound that welcomed the four mammals to the area.

"This is as far as my powers were able to teleport us to," Lord Bogo said, addressing the fox and two rabbits behind him. "From this point, we'll just have to continue on paw." The buffalo looked down at his legs. "On _hoof, _in my case."

From there, the four started to walk forward into the shadowy darkness, crunching on the leaves on the ground as they slowly strolled along. An open gate, corroded with rust, will a skull design on the top of it started to come into view. A aged and rickety sign below them read the obvious as to what this place was called.

Walking through the gateway, Bogo and the three entered the area that he spoke of.

The eeriness of their surroundings was enough to send a small shiver down Nick's spine, but he would brave whatever came about to help the rabbit and fulfill the promise he had made to her.

Thick tree roots stuck upward in the path as they walked further down the passageway. After just going straight for a good distance, they ended up coming across a series of small firebrands mounted up on the tops of some black poles.

Although very minimal in quantity, the torches served as light to guide them through where they found themselves now. Illuminated in front of them was a series of gravestones, piles of wilted, dried-up leaves resting near them.

"This was definitely a cemetery at one point," she said to herself as she observed her surroundings.

Something in the distance caught Nick's eye (courtesy of his night vision), and he tapped on the gray bunny's shoulder to get her attention. "Carrots, look!" he said, pointing a paw to something far away.

What his attention was directed towards was a pagoda-like building, dilapidated in appearance.

"That must be what he meant when he said that in his signal," Judy muttered. "That's-"

"The old Lin Kuei Temple," Lord Bogo chimed in, finishing the doe's sentence. Looking over at the fox that had spotted it, he remarked, "Good observation, Nicholas. Let us go in that direction."

The four made their way over to the abandoned building. Once they all reached the entrance to the construction, the buffalo of the group was the first to step into its dark interior. The others followed Lord Bogo's steps shortly afterwards, and Judy flicked on the miniature flashlight that was hooked on her uniform to help guide them.

A large wooden table that took up the most space was turned on its side, fragments of broken pottery laid scattered next to it, presumably from when it had been knocked over. Judy directed her flashlight to the ligneous flooring, shining it down upon several papyrus scrolls that were scattered around them. Some of them appeared to have tears in the paper they were written on, and others had water stains on them that they presumed had gotten there due to the elements.

They carefully maneuvered around the debris and disarray on the floors, cockroaches skittering away for safety as they all walked over to another corner of the temple. One of the windows within their view was broken, tiny shards of glass laying across the sill forming below it.

"What happened for this to become so degraded?" Judy couldn't help but inquire.

"Yeah," Nick chimed in, "I bet this place was probably pretty nice in here in its heyday."

Lord Bogo let out a sigh. "This was where Lin Kuei would commonly meet. Until the most recent changes to their principles, that is."

"And who are these Lin Kuei, exactly?" the fox asked.

The buffalo informed, "Putting it bluntly, they are a tribe of assassins. For the longest times, they carried out their missions using nothing but their skills and judgment. But then everything changed."

The vulpine replied, "What do you mean by that?"

"A proposition was made, issuing them to utilize new technology and have a number of his members undergo a sort of transformation. And even though it went against the ancient teachings that had been followed for so long, it was agreed upon." Lord Bogo let out another sigh. "Leodore played a big role in making that decree pass., and it was mostly because _he _eventually wanted to use the results to his advantage."

"Seriously? _He _was involved in this?"

"I am afraid so. Although he tried to stay positive about the plan, the Grand Master had a few concerns of his own. But when he tried to express them to Leodore, he was told to put his plan into effect or there would be deadly consequences."

"You're sayin' Leodore made him an offer he couldn't refuse?" Nick responded.

It was clear that the buffalo didn't understand the vulpine's reference. "Long story short," he continued, "after being threatened with death, the Grand Master passed the decree."

"Hey," Judy said, one of the scrolls that was still inside of the building in her paw.

It was evident that the rolled-up paper that she had in her grasp was newer compared to the others. The three turned their attention to the for as she unraveled the scroll, holding it up against the wall and shining her flashlight upon it.

On the paper was some sort of sketch, depicting what looked like a canid in a suit of armor. Several arrows pointed to certain parts of the sketch, and in front of them were words that appeared to be written in another language. Although they couldn't interpret what it was saying, there was no need to. Looking at the detailed sketch alone, they all assumed that it was the concept used in the Lin Kuei's proposition that Lord Bogo told them about.

"This almost looks like the blueprint for that thing you were talking about," Judy said to Lord Bogo.

Looking one more time at the unrolled scroll, Nick observed, "Almost reminds me of the robots they used in this one sci-fi flick I was in."

Jack, who had also been paying close attention to the tale that was told, chimed in, "But taking ordinary mammals and turning them into these… _machines… _isn't acceptable. There's no free will when it comes to such a thing."

"The exact reason why Leodore favored this plan, Jack," Lord Bogo responded. "By killing off a mammal's volition, there was less of a chance of insubordination."

The striped rabbit muttered in reply, "Another reason why he needs to be stopped."

As they walked over to another corner of the space, Judy placed her flashlight on something that appeared to be written on another wall. The words looked quite sloppy, as if they had been jotted down by someone that was in a hurry or a state of panic.

The doe read aloud from the message that had been left in the forsaken building. "'Remember that nothing of what they show you is real.' That's what it says."

"Hey," Nick called out, pointing a paw to the right side of the wall. "Shine the light over there. I think there's something written over there, but I can only see a little bit of it."

The gray leporine did as the vulpine suggested. When she placed her light in that direction, she illuminated yet another series of words that had been jotted upon the walls. "It says, 'Beware the cobwebs that lurk where the truth lies.'"

Judy noticed that right below the words was a dribbling of some sort that almost looked like a depiction of a cobweb.

When the light became focused upon it, Lord Bogo nodded and said, "Whoever left this note was pertaining to the spiders that lurk within here. The kind he is speaking about aren't just the small, ordinary ones; these ones span as large as you guys in size."

"Well, it's a good thing that no of us here has arachnophobia," Nick joked, going into a state of nervous chuckling. When he realized that no one was laughing alongside him, he muttered, "Too soon?"

"But what did that other message mean, Lord Bogo?" Jack inquired. "It said to remember that nothing of what they show you is real. What does that mean?"

"There are powers that dwell in sections of this place that, to some, are beyond comprehension," the buffalo informed. "There exists entities within these woods that have the ability to show you things to entice you to come forward, only to lure you to your demise. Whoever left that message obviously wanted to next mammal who ventured here to take heed of that."

Nick gulped as he listened to Lord Bogo's words. The picture that was being painted of these mysterious entities reminded him of the siren, a dangerous creature of mythology that lured in mammals with enchanting music and the like.

"We should venture further," Judy said to the others.

Despite not finding any clues pointed to the location of the missing crew member in the old temple, it was pretty clear to the three surrounding her that she was not going to give up that easily. She was determined to search through the area and find out if she could see anything that might aid her in her search for her missing crew member.

Judy took the lead of the group, carefully walking around some of the clutter and hopping over the table. As she stepped back out into the moonlit night, Lord Bogo followed her with Nick and Jack trekking behind him.

Once they got a good distance away from the forlorn construction, the buffalo asked, "Where shall we go next, Hopps?"

The lagomorph looked around in the dark, and a thought started to take formation in her brain. "I have an idea." She pointed to the tod standing behind her. "Nick and I will head passed the path that goes passed that cemetery, and you and Jack will remain-"

"Hold on a sec, Carrots!" Nick said, interrupting the bunny's trail of thought. "You want us to split up?"

"Just into two groups," Judy clarified. "You and I'll still be working as a team, so there's no need to worry."

The fox shook his head. "I'm not so sure about this. Even if that's our case, splitting a group of mammals up is the trope that always comes before someone getting hurt in the movies."

The leporine replied, "We'll be just fine. This isn't one of those movies or stories you're talking about."

"Are you certain of that? How do you know we're not all part of some big story that someone's writing about us?"

"Don't be silly. I told you, we're gonna be okay. You can even hold onto my paw if you get scared." There was a sense of reassurance in the doe's voice.

Nick started to remember just then what he had told her the other night when they were talking: _Don't worry, Carrots. I promised that I'd help you find him, and I will do just that. No matter what it takes._

Recollecting the promise he made to her once again, he walked a few steps closer to the gray rabbit, ready to help her as they ventured farther into the unknown.

* * *

_ **Meanwhile...** _

A foul stench was the first scent to reach the vixen's nostrils as she was escorted by the two guards in the entrance to The Towers. She had always known about this particular place, but never in her time did she ever anticipate the moment that she would be a prisoner here.

As Skye was steered away from the main atrium and down the first sections where the others were kept, she could catch glimpses of who was being kept behind the impassable steel bars.

The first cell she passed contained an antelope, who was currently on his knees as she breathed the most silent prayer that Skye ever heard. The vixen could only presume that the reason she was keeping her voice in a whisper was so any of the available guards didn't hear her.

The mammal she saw imprisoned next was a jackal, his paws gripped tightly around his cell's bars, desperate to eventually be free. The cell after that one had two mammals placed inside of it, one a warthog and the other meerkat.

The fourth that she placed was the one that had truly managed to make her heart break. Inside of that small lockup was a female coyote laying on the dirty floors.

_And he told me that he only sent certain mammals here for the good of the realm, _Skye thought. _That bastard is a _liar_. Nothing but a damned dirty liar. What have these mammals ever done to receive such a terrible fate?_

Leodore had a history of imprisoning others for very absurd or ridiculous reasons, and the fox could only assume that this was one of those cases. She wondered internally how that lion could sleep at night with the knowledge that he had all of these mammals in these conditions.

Skye was escorted further down the halls, and she could now hear the sounds of commotion and shouting coming from the second level of the tower. Coming up to an empty, dingy cell that was near the very end of the left row, the guards quickly shoved the arctic vixen inside and locked it.

After looking around at the walls of her new environment, she walked right up to where the bars of the cell and just looked out from them. The sound of cackling caught her attention.

Skye could tell that it was not regular laughter, such as when one hears a good joke; this was the laughter of someone who was barely clinging on to the last portions of their sanity.

From what was visible through the bars, she could see the head of a spotted hyena with an eyepatch over his right eye peaking over in her direction, located only one cell way from hers.

Seeing that Skye was also looking over at him, the feline sprouted, "Sometimes you have to laugh to keep the voices in your head at bay. Spend enough time within these walls and you'll understand what I mean. The voices'll get in yer head eventually, and believe me when I tell ya that they ain't friendly."

The hyena's remark was enough to make her shudder. Turning her attention from him and disregarding his statement, she turned her to the opposite side. She let out a low-spirited sigh as she looked in that direction, and the smallest tears took shape in her icy blue eyes.

Skye quickly wiped them away, walking back over to the small area for resting that was in her cell. As her started to sag downward in despondence, she noticed some small words that had been thinly carved into the side of the wall.

_Someone must have been in this cell before me, _she observed to herself.

The fox squinted her eyes to see the words "Hope can be a dangerous thing" written beside her.

Upon reading the phrase to herself, her head went back to the striped buck that she had spoken to before all of this had come to pass. She recalled he had told her about how Leodore had claimed the soul of his brother, and how he wished to finally bring an end to his sovereignty. When that jackrabbit spoke, there was this great sense of confidence within his voice, and even Skye could sense his determination regarding what he wished to do.

Despite what the negative quote on the wall said to her, the vixen honestly didn't believe that it was perilous to hope for eventual positivity in the slightest. Her mind started to recollect those few words that the jackrabbit said back when they encountered one another for the first time: _I hope that we cross paths another time._

_I'm hoping that we can as well, _she thought herself.


	8. Encounters

As much as he tried to not to show any sign of fear, the eerie silence was slowly starting to get on Nick's nerves. The warnings they had discovered on that old temple's walls didn't help the situation either, and they made him think of the possibility of eventually encountering what the words told them to look out for.

The path Nick and Judy were walking along started to shift, and soon they found themselves walking through a labyrinth of tall and slender trees. With every juddering sound the arose from the bushes in the darkness, they both equally jumped, internally anticipating something to emerge from within them.

"C-Carrots?" Nick asked.

"Yeah?" the bunny beside him replied.

"You know when Lord Bogo was telling us to remain cautious of the huge spiders, and I made the joke that it's a good thing no one's got arachnophobia?"

"What about it?"

"Well…" The fox trailed off for a brief moment. "Is it a bad time to confess that I actually have an acute fear of spiders?"

Before Judy could reply, she saw something laying stranded on the ground with her flashlight. "What's this?" she said to herself.

Nick followed the leporine as she walked over towards the object that she just found, stopping beside it to get a better look at what it was. What they discovered looks like some sort of weapon with with a large pointed tip at the top of a pole no more than six inches long. The wooden post that the tip rested upon appeared to have been slightly broken in its size, as if it had been longer at a different time.

"What do we got here?" the vulpine muttered. "Some kind of spear or somethin'?"

"You might just want to hold on to that," the lagomorph to his right suggested. "Might just come in handy should we run into anything."

Nick picked up the spear held onto it as they continued to venture forward. As they walked ahead, they started to see what appeared to be claw marks that sunk deeply into the trees that they passed up, as well as a series of larger paw prints ahead that were made by some unknown source.

However, things started to get at their eeriest when Judy stopped dead in her tracks and started to stare towards something that was in the far right corner of her vision.

"Carrots?" Nick said. "What do you see?"

Whatever it was that the rabbit was staring at, the fox could not see it. There was nothing except a bare path that lead to nowhere in his eyes, but it was evident to him that she was looking at something that he couldn't.

Judy suddenly bolted deeper into woods, shouting, "Wait! I'm coming!"

That was when he remembered one of the warnings Lord Bogo gave them all before they split up into two teams: _There exists entities within these woods that have the ability to show you things to entice you to come forward, only to lure you to your demise._

"Judy!" he shouted, breaking out into a run to try to catch up with the bunny that was already out of his vision.

* * *

"I'm coming, Travis!" Judy shouted as she bolted forward.

After all of the searching that she had been doing since his disappearance, she had finally heard the voice of who she had been searching for calling out to her.

"I'm over here, Hopps!" a male voice said in the distance.

Making a right turn as she sprinted along, she started to see the figure of a black-footed ferret in a similar uniform as hers within the circular glow of her flashlight. The face on the mustelid gave the impression that he had been through a lot and was relieved to see her.

"Travis, thank the gods you're okay," the rabbit breathed once she approached the crew member. "I've been worried sick about whether you were safe or not."

The ferret blankly stared back at her. "I was safe all along," he murmured. "The dark ones kept me in good company."

Judy looked at him in a confused way, unsure of what that even meant. "W-What?"

The eyes of the mustelid started to glow with an uncanny red color, and his body started convulse like he was possessed by a demon.

The gray doe backed away, starting to get even more nervous inside than she was when she had first left the shrine with Nick. It was within those moments that she realized that the figure she had approached and spoke to was not that of the crew member she looked for.

_That's one of those entities the buffalo was warning us about, _she told herself, her thoughts spilling out of her in a currently rushed manner. _It somehow took the from of who I'm here searching for!_

The figure a few inches away from her suddenly started to shift in size and shape, like something out a monster movie. Its body started to get larger and lankier, and its claws larger than anything she had ever seen on any ordinary mammal. When it picked its head back up, the entity's disfigured face that stared back at her almost made her want to shout as loud as she could.

Instinctively, Judy tried to run away from it. However, she didn't even manage to get a few feet away when she found herself being swiftly thrusted backwards by the supernatural force.

* * *

As he tried to find out where the rabbit ran off to, guarded with nothing except the spear that they had previously discovered, Nick heard a shout that sent a shiver down his spine. The voice that had made such a noise was none other than the doe that he was trying to catch up with.

"Judy!" he exclaimed into the night, gradually picking up his running speed. "Don't worry, I'm coming!"

He had no idea what she had encountered to produce such a terrified exclamation. Whatever it was, however, he knew was going to have to face in order to make sure that she got out of whatever she had just gotten into safe and sound.

Nick heard another shout, this time sounding like it was getting a little more distant in the woods. Following the direction of the sound, he made an abrupt turn and started to direct his way around all of the trees in his way.

As he tried to make sure that he didn't trip over any of the roots stick up from out of the ground below him, the tod started to hear a series of voices resonate around him.

"Go away! No one wants to be friends with a _fox_!"

"Who would trust you? You're nothin' but bad news, fox!"

"What are you gonna do? You gonna _cry_?"

The voices he heard echoing around him as he ran all sounded young in tone. They weren't just _any _voices, however; they were all actual statements that other kits used to bully him when he was growing up. Nick could only assumed that the mysterious entities lurking within these woods were using this against him in an effort to slow him down.

"Don't listen to them, Nicky," a soft female voice murmured. "Come home with me."

_Nicky? _the fox thought. _The only mammal who's ever called me that was…_

Standing stiffly within his vision was the figure of an older vixen in a purple sweater, looking over at him with a smile. Who Nick was seeing just now was his beloved mother.

He knew, however, that this was simply those things playing tricks on him, and he ran away from the illusion that was being played out before him.

Nick fought away a tear as he carried on. The sounds of Judy's shouts for help were getting closer and closer within range.

After making a few sharp turns and jumping over a few thick tree roots, he started to see the distraught bunny. From what his night vision allowed him to see, she appeared to be ensnared by the longest and thickest cobweb that he had ever seen in his life. The web stretched taller than Judy's height, and its elaborately-spun pattern became disarrayed as she squirmed in an attempt to free herself.

A small distance away was another one similar to the other, the difference between being that this one had several large, fluffy masses of silk affixed to it. Nick's knowledge on arachnids told him that these were a female spider's eggs. The very concept of said eggs hatching, unleashing a mass of spiders that big, made Nick shudder inside.

"Carrots!" the vulpine exclaimed as he quickly approached the webbing the the leporine was tangled within.

"Nick!" Judy said back.

"Don't you worry"—he picked up the spear and held its tip towards the spider's construction—"I'm gonna get ya outta here, okay?"

"Nick, behind you!" The rabbit's eyes gleamed with panic as they started towards something she was seeing.

As the fox turned his head around to see what it was that Judy was looking at, his eyes encountered a spider that was nearly as tall as him and wider than two of him combined.

Nick let out a loud gasp as the arachnid came scurrying towards him. He ran a few paces back and threateningly pointed his spear towards it. All it did in response was hiss at the nervous fox, not taking its eyes off of him.

The vulpine started to run towards the tree where the other cobweb was, and the spider simply followed his movements with its eight creeping legs. When the gigantic arthropod leaped upward, ready to attack and pierce its target with its twin fangs, Nick threw his spear towards it and shielded himself.

He managed to pierce the arachnid near its abdomen, and it fell to the ground with another hiss, kicking its legs around and trying to get up off of its back.

His heart pounding against his chest, Nick ran back up to where Judy was still stuck and quickly did his best to free her from the web before another spider appeared. The moment she was saved, the doe held onto the fox's paw as tight as ever and the two started to run.

As Judy sprinted away from the area with Nick, she peaked her head up every few seconds to ensure there was no more of those hideous spiders lurking within the treetops, waiting to jump down from there and cause an even greater fright.

* * *

_ **Meanwhile...** _

Searching through the smaller abandoned constructions that remained standing within, Jack and Lord Bogo found no clues that Judy had instructed the two of them to look around for.

The only things that the two of them found during their exploration was a series of open scrolls and some art that looked like it had been created entirely with black ink. And while their finds were interesting regarding the ancient history of the Lin Kuei that once gathered around the area, it didn't help that doe out with finding out where her crew member disappeared. It was obvious that he was here at one point, as he implied it himself in the few words of his signal, but what happened afterwards remained a mystery.

Sighing heavily, the buffalo muttered, "There doesn't seem to be anything beneficial to Hopps."

Jack remained silent and nodded his head in response as they left the building they had recently searched and back into the forest area.

The two of them just started to change their walking direction when Bogo felt himself being hit right in the stomach by something completely invisible. As he turned his head in both directions to look for what had just caught him off guard, he found himself receive an undetectable jab to his left shoulder.

"Lord Bogo!" the striped rabbit beside him said, unsure of what exactly was happening and why the buffalo was just hit by something that neither could see.

Although he couldn't see anything within his range of vision, Bogo was beyond certain that something had been following them and decided to surprise him. Invisibility was not something out of the ordinary to the buffalo, as there were several fighters he had known of that possessed the ability to become undetectable.

"Whoever you are, show yourself!" he exclaimed into the night, cutting through its silence. "Invisibility will do you no good!"

Right when he finished his statement, a figure started to become visible in front of them. Its overall build was like that of a canine's, but it looked as if its body were entirely composed of steel from head to paw. Even the "tail" of what stood before them looked like it was made of some sort of metallic alloy.

Jack's mouth hung wide open at what he was seeing. _That's one of those machines we saw the templates for back in that old temple, _he thought. _The Lin Kuei must have some of these designated to sweep these areas._

Bogo let out a huff, assuming a fighting position in preparation to defend himself against what struck him.

"You were roaming around the buildings reserved exclusively for the Lin Kuei," the figure standing before them said. "Such actions are both intolerable and consequential."

"You can't reserve a building when it's already been abandoned," Jack muttered.

"Who are you?" Lord Bogo asked with a stern tone of voice.

Ignoring the inquiry made to him, the machine that stood in front of the two of them replied, "You both will come with me."

Shaking his head, the cape buffalo responded, "I don't think so."

As Bogo swung his right hoof towards his new opponent, the proposed jab was obstructed and responded to with a hard punch near his shoulder again.

He tried bringing his other hoof around, but ended up receiving a kick to his chest by the canid-looking machine that dared to fight him. The forcefulness of the strike sent the bovine stumbling backwards, but he quickly manage to regain control of his equilibrium.

Joining in on the fight in an effort to help Lord Bogo, Jack quickly ran up and tried to send a kick and a punch towards their opponent.

"Jack, don't!" the buffalo tried to warn him, but he wouldn't listen.

The striped buck ended up receiving the hardest jab that he had ever felt before, the strength of it knocking him down to the ground.

As the machine started to get closer, Lord Bogo defended himself against it and did a flip in the air, landing near a tree a few spaces away from where he previously was. Grunting under his breath, he held both hooves out in front of him and blue bolts of energy shot from out of them.

What he had conjured hit his presumed target directly, and the machine he was fighting, after being shocked with a different type of electricity, took a hard and clumsy fall.

Lord Bogo took a moment to catch his breath, and Jack slowly picked himself back up and stood there beside him. He started to unhurriedly walk up to where what he had just faced laid stiffly on the ground.

"What are you doing?" the jackrabbit to his side inquired.

"Within that steel body lies an innocent soul," was Bogo's response. "I can sense that what he did was not of his own intuition, but a side effect of the transformation he underwent."

As the two both approached the machine, it slowly lifted its back up from off of the ground and sat upright. Still on the defense, Jack got into a fighting position, but the buffalo held out a hoof out in front of him.

"Where… am I?" the machine asked, its voice sounding like someone in a dazed state. When it became more of its surroundings, it started to mutter, "Bastards. Those rotten bastards. They turned me into a _machine_! I wish death on them, _and_ on Leodore!"

"Calm down," Lord Bogo tried to tell the mammal that lied inside of the metallic build. "What is your name?"

"Before I ended up this way… I was known as Grizzoli."

"And how did this happen, Grizzoli? Do you remember anything?"

"I was just an ordinary wolf before I ended up in this body. I enlisted to join the Lin Kuei the very moment I became old enough to, and I was a very loyal member. But it was when I started to discover hidden truths about the act that turned me into what I am now that things changed."

"Things changed in what way?"

"I… I made it my personal mission to inform others that Leodore was really who caused this proposition to take effect, and we started to protest. The last thing I remember happening before I was turned was being kidnapped late one night, and my kidnappers telling me that I was going to be among the first subjects because there was already a bounty on my head. I've saw the process that occurs before a mammal is transformed; it is terrible and has stained my memory."

"I am sorry for what has happened to you, Grizzoli. You deserved none of these things that happened to you."

"Hey," another voice called out from behind Bogo and the others.

The buffalo turned around to see Nick and Judy walking off of their path and up to where he was crouched down. "You have returned," he remarked.

"Almost got hurt," the vulpine replied. "Had a run-in with a giant-ass spider that tried to kill us, but we're outta harm's way now." Looking at who the bovine was positioned next to, he asked, "Who's the robot?"

"His name is Grizzoli," Lord Bogo replied. "He is the result of that Lin Keui act that Leodore had a big part in. You remember me telling you all about that earlier, don't you?"

The fox nodded his head.

Interrupting the conversation between him and the buffalo, Judy frustratedly uttered, "Didn't find a damn sign of where Travis might've been taken." She let out a sigh. "Startin' to really get to me."

"Wait," Grizzoli said, chiming in. "Did you just mention someone by the name of Travis, rabbit?"

"I… I did," the doe responded. "W-Why do you ask?"

"Because that name sounds familiar in my memory. Did he happen to be a ferret by any chance?"

"Yes, he was. Do you know what happened to him? He told me he was around here right before his signal got cut, and I _really _need to find him."

"The last time I was at the new Lin Kuei temple, I overheard two members talking about how they caught someone roaming around the area like he was trying to escape someone. They said that they reported to Leodore and that they were told to lock him up in the 'Dark Lair,' but I don't know where such a place might be found. I am sorry if my information is not that much of a help to you."

"No," the gray lagomorph responded, "don't be sorry. That intel's a _big _help in helping me find out where he is. Thank you, Grizzoli."

Grizzoli turned his head towards Judy and got up off of the ground. "The others back at the temple will be unaware of my defection, and this encounter. I could try to secretly obtain more information, but I will have no way of reporting it without being caught."

"I still appreciate your help," Judy replied. Turned her attention back over to the fox to her right, she remarked, "Come on, Nick. I think it's best that we get goin' now."

Nick nodded with agreement. "Yeah, let's get outta here," he said to the rabbit beside him.

* * *

_ **Meanwhile...** _

When Skye was allowed to temporarily leave her dingy cell in The Towers for the first time, she was met the task of hard and manual labor. She had always heard that the ones Leodore unfairly imprisoned being subjected to various tasks, but never did she the day that she would be among them.

Even though she wasn't confined to a square of limited space, there was still no sense of freedom whatsoever. The guards surrounding them were always staring at her and the other prisoners, making sure no one did anything that would result in a higher punishment.

The vixen found herself on her paws and knees as she scrubbed the floors that encompassed one of the more spacious rooms within the building. As she dunked the worn-out cloth into the rusty bucket of water that she was given, she breathed a heavy sigh and continued to do her work.

Everyone else that was around her was doing the exact same thing; no one making a single peep or uttering a single word. The two guards that currently occupied the space stared at them with fiendish eyes once again, proceeding to begin a conversation with one another regarding their family lives outside of their work.

Skye turned her attention away from both the guards and the other prisoners and back to her task. She accidentally tipped her bucket over, spilling out some of its contents onto where she was kneeling, but quickly picked it back up before a disaster could come to pass.

Using the water that she had been spilled, she continued to give the floors beside her the best scrubbing that she could possibly give them. When she got to a certain spot that was within her reach, she scoured as hard as she could, but the dirtier area on the ground refused to come clean.

As she let out an audible, frustrated grunt, she saw the figure an oryx crawling into her peripheral vision. He appeared to have a large bruise that was quite visible near his right shoulder.

"Mind if I lend you some help?" he whispered with a kind voice.

Without thinking twice, Skye nodded her head and replied, "Gladly. Some of those damned stains won't come out at all."

The gemsbok took his cloth and went around the stained area that the arctic vixen couldn't get to come clean. Within a few moments, the dirt was gone.

"Thank you," Skye whispered to him. "That wouldn't come out for the life of me."

"Happy that I could help," the ungulate replied, still remaining as quiet as he possibly could. Letting out a sigh, he added under his breath, "Just praying that one day I'll be freed from here. I wish the same to the others that Leodore's thrown in here to rot because he didn't like what they said about him."

"That is the reason I was placed in here," the vixen said. "It was because he wasn't pleased with my views and the like."

The oryx let out a sigh as he spoke and continued to work. "You're not alone. I learned to never speak out against that lion's plans almost a year ago. But I just try to think that this is only temporary, and that a light is waiting at the end of the tunnel. No one ever made themselves a legacy without facing some obstacles."

The smallest smile took shape against Skye's muzzle. "That's the way that I try to look at these types of things too."

"Until we see that glorious day where we're all free, though, you have to just do as the guards say and not speak unless asked to." He looked over at the one female pig guard in the corner, who still appeared to be talking with another fellow sentry. "You surely don't want to mess with _Swinton_ either. She has zero tolerance for anyone that doesn't follow her orders. The best advice I can give anyone hear is you do what she says unless you want to end in the Dark Lair."

"The Dark Lair? What is that?"

"That's somewhere that you never want to find yourself in. Anyone sent there normally ends up executed at Leodore's command a short time afterwards." Changing the subject, the gemsbok remarked, "By the way, my name is Pronk."

The fox breathed, "I'm Skye."

"The first I'm doing once I get out of here is meeting up with my family again. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of them. Would also love to be able to see my Bucky again—he's probably worried sick about how I'm holding up. After that, I'm guessing I'll just move towards the countryside, maybe find a nice-"

The sudden sound of some object being smacked against the gray walls interrupted their conversation, as well as startle everyone else that was doing their task.

"Silence!" a booming voice exclaimed, coming from the pig sentry that they were just talking about. "Get back to work!"

With that, Skye and the oryx named Pronk went in separate directions and returned to their penal duties. Once the labor was complete, Skye was directed back to her cell along with the others.

Just before they were about to place her back in her cell, another guard walked into view carrying a tray that had a little bit of flatbread and a small mug on it. Skye's stomach had just started to growl with hunger a little bit ago, so receiving a small bit of food at the current moment was a good thing.

Once Skye was locked in the small cell once again, she quickly tore into the food that she was given. The bread tasted quite stale—no doubt in her mind that it was from the batch that Leodore was too good to eat from—but it did the job of quenching her hunger. Once she done eating that, she picked up the mug beside it and proceeded to drink the tepid water that it contained.

After she was finished, she thought it best to try and get some rest if she could. However, the loud and crazed ramblings of the hyena in the cell one from her made the idea of doing so quite difficult.

"You yellow-livered old skunk!" he shouted, sounding as if he was directing it at someone even though no one was in the cell with him. From there, he proceeded to yell several profane words that Skye had never really heard anyone else except for Leodore say out loud.

The arctic vixen tried her best to dismiss the noise, even though it was easier said than done. As she finally managed to get herself in a _somewhat_ relaxed state, her mind repeated those few words that the gemsbok had told her.

_No one ever made themselves a legacy without facing some obstacles…_


	9. A Feast and A Fight

The sounds of several voices engaging in conversations, mixing with one another, came from the left side of the room. Following the source of the sound, Lord Bogo and the three mammals following him from behind walked over to the next room. Once they walked inside of there, they were greeted with the sights of something none of them expected to see: A feast.

The fighters that remained in the tournament had been called over to the area, but they were not told the reason as to why they were. This, they assumed, was the reason as to why they were all summoned.

The three made their way over to the large table, adorned with shiny, complimentary decorations, where everyone on the realm's team was seen talking with one another. Walking into view was Leodore, who wore a smile on his muzzle that seemed a tad peculiar.

Coming up behind were several servers, carrying big silver trays that held the contents of the feast. The food being served onto them all was a lot larger than they had anticipated, consisting of a large chicken that had been roasted in herbs, an array of fresh fruits, vegetables with dishes of aromatic dressings to the side of them, warm flatbread, and several different confections.

Something like this almost seemed _too _generous for someone that was as tyrannical in nature as Leodore to do.

"Welcome, participants," the lion greeted, keeping that strangely wide smile on his face as he did so. "Putting combat aside for the time being, I have gathered all of you here this afternoon for a feast. May the food be to your liking, and may it fuel you for the remainder of this tournament coming up."

Leodore bowed before pulling out his chair and sitting down, looking back over at them with a villainous glare that seemed more like him.

Some of the fighters that had been gathered walked towards the table, taking their seats and pointing to whatever portions of the food they wanted. The servers took their plates from them and filled them to their liking.

While the others got their slightly uneven share of the feast, Leodore was helping himself to several pieces of the herb-roasted chicken that had been carved for him.

Judy, Jack, and Lord Bogo started to walk over to the other side of the table, over to where some empty chairs were a good distance away from the lion. Nick stood where he was, looking at all of the cuisine for a short time before following them.

"Mr. Wilde," Leodore called as he was walking out of view. "Be sure to help yourself to the food. And do try some of the chicken; it is cooked to _perfection_."

"Uh, no thanks," Nick rejected, trying to keep his tone as kind as possible.

"Surely a fighter like yourself that's defeated great foes so far needs something to stay strong."

"I'm a vegetarian, actually," the fox informed. "Been one for quite some time now and I probably always will be. Those veggies on the sides over there look appetizing, though."

Leodore glared over at him, the smile he had been wearing fading away. "Oh, I see."

The way he said that made it sound as if he had been insulted by the fact that he would not accept some of the cooking made by his team.

Nick simply walked away met up with Bogo and the others on the far end of the table. When the servers approached him and asked what he wished for on the plate they had provided for him, he pointed to the vegetable medley and watched blankly as they placed several scoops on it. When they asked him if he wanted anything else (them asking if he wished for a slice off of the herbed chicken another time as well), he held a paw up and said that that was all for now.

The server bowed his head, turning around and walking back to Leodore's seat. As soon as he was gone, Nick stared at what was on the plate, scrambling the various vegetables around with the fork beside him.

"Nick?" Judy murmured, getting the red fox to look in her direction. "Something wrong?"

The tod nodded his head, setting the fork down that clanged against the white glass plate in front of him. "I… It was just that my mind to what happened in that crypt we were investigating the other night." He paused a moment. "Was thinking about those entities that were lurking around that Bogo said would try to lure us into danger."

The leporine asked in reply, "What about them?"

"It was just… you know when you went off running in those woods before you got caught in that giant spiderweb?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, one of those things, when I was running up to you after you shouted for help, took on the form of my mother. She passed away a short time before I came here, and she had been battling illness before that."

"I-I'm so sorry," Judy sympathized.

"Call me biased," the fox continued, "but she was the sweetest mammal I've ever known, and she'd always go out of her way to make sure my family was happy. I was beyond upset when I got a call one night"—he let out a sniffle despite trying to hold it back—"saying that I better get to the hospital 'cause her condition was getting worse. My aunt would be telling me that she's not in pain anymore where she is now. But I just wish I could explain to my heart what my mind knows, you know what I mean?" Nick let out a heavy sigh. "Anyway, I'd say it's time to try a little bit of this-"

Leodore started to speak up and address all of the fighters, interrupting the vulpine. Those that were eating from the feast were to enjoy what they had, because the next few matches would commence in approximately two hours.

* * *

_ **Two Hours Later...** _

"Ms. Hopps will be the next to fight!" the tournament's coordinator boomed.

After hearing that she was who Leodore had selected, the lagomorph slowly but steadily stepped forward, anticipating her opponent.

"Your next match will be… Honey!"

Honey walked into view and towards the feline that had been patiently waiting for the succeeding fight to commence. She looked over Leodore and remarked in a whisper, "All I have to do is use my power against her and she'll be eliminated from the tournament."

To the fighters, the tall lion addressed, "And do remember that if you lose this match, Hopps, you will be eliminated!"

Judy casted a competitive glare in the honey badger's direction as she slowly approached the area, holding up two fists.

"You don't know what power you are up against," Honey remarked.

"We shall see," the leporine replied.

"Fight!" Leodore roared.

Honey was the first one to swing a jab, which hit the rabbit directly and, although she didn't wish to admit it, caught her by surprise a little bit. The second time around, however, Judy instinctively ducked her head, delivering a strike towards her rival's chest with her knee.

The lagomorph's opponent stumbled for a moment, holding a paw against where she had received that powerful kick, but she was far from out. The gray rabbit proceeding to turn around and attempt a roundhouse kick, but Honey crouched down quick enough to protect herself from it.

The ratel responded with a low kick before backing up a few spaces away from the doe. As Judy rushed forward with a fist ready to swing towards her, Honey stiffly held out both paws and started to use her powers to her advantage.

When the badger made that simple motion, the rabbit froze up in the midst of her movement. With her leporine opponent now unable to move a muscle, she sent a small jab in her direction. As Honey attempted to deliver a forceful kick, Judy, now unfrozen, crouched down and responded with an unexpected uppercut a few seconds later.

As the ratel got back up, Judy attempted a roundhouse kick towards her. When that was blocked by Honey, the doe did a backwards flip in the air to get away before she could get hit again. While she was still somewhat in the air, only a measly inch or two from the courtyard's pavement, the badger quickly did what she did last time, channeling the power she possessed and freezing before she could reach the ground.

Sprinting up towards Judy, Honey delivered a kick. The rabbit, however, was quick in regaining her composure another times and responded to her opponent's assault with a series of quick jabs and an uppercut that made her lose her equilibrium. Upon receiving a high kick from the leporine she was facing, Honey, to her misfortune, found herself hitting the pavement.

Leodore made the declaration that the fight was over, much to his dismay, and he shook his head with disappointment as he did so. _How is this possible? _he thought.

"On that note, we shall resume the rest of the elimination matches later," the feline announced, proceeding to walk away from the rest of the fighters that were still in the competition.

Walking up the victorious rabbit, Nick remarked, "That was amazing, Carrots. So much for that honey badger's undefeatable power that she was bragging about, huh?"

Lord Bogo chimed in, "One more victory means that we're one step closer to saving this realm from meeting a terrible fate."

* * *

As he continued to walk out of the courtyard, Leodore, still experiencing a little bit of disbelief in how that doe defeated Honey, turned his head to the side and gestured for a panther that served him to step forward.

"What is it?" the black-furred feline asked.

Leodore responded in a hushed tone, "I need you to deliver a message to The Towers for me, Bagheera. Summon one of my guards and tell him to inform the others on delivering a Dark Lair prisoner onto me. I must speak with this inmate personally and discuss a plan with him."

"What you have requested will be done, sir," the panther replied.

* * *

_ **Meanwhile...** _

When the afternoon came to pass—although unable to seen due to the dark, windowless interior of The Towers—Skye was met with the same duty of scrubbing floors along with all of the others that were called forth by the guards.

The floors and walls of where she was put to work in now, however, were in an even dirtier conditions than the ones from the previous night. The moment she got down on her knees and started to clean, the vixen ended up getting gray dust all over her bright white coat of fur. She didn't make such a fuss over it, though, and just did as she was instructed.

The room seemed to stay silent for a good bit of time, the only sound that was audible being that of everyone's rags scrubbing the perimeter and being rung out on occasion. However, it didn't stay that way for long when an unexpected quarrel between two prisoners, one a stoat and the other a skunk, emerged before them.

Skye did her best to mind her own business, not wanting to become a part of the argument as well, but overheard some factors of the argument. It sounded as if one of them was bringing up something from the past that occurred between the two of them, which lead to the other getting annoyed.

"You just _have _to keep reopening an old wound, don't you?" the stoat snarled. "You said we'd let what's in the past stay in the past, but here you are bringin' up such nonsense again."

"It was _far_ from trivial!" the skunk snapped back in a somewhat-louder tone of voice. "_You _just say that because you're don't want to admit that it was _your_ damn fault in the first place. Too afraid that it'll hurt that overinflated ego of yours."

"You're one t' talk about ego. You keep goin' on and on 'bout how yours was bruised by such petty things that someone might say about you. Out of all of these damn prisoners 'round us, you gotta be the most annoying one here."

"Those two that day were making insinuations towards me that I was-"

"Just keep whatever mess of long words you're gonna spit out now to yourself. They don't frickin' mean nothin', and if they did no one would know what the hell they meant anyway."

The skunk paused a moment. "They don't mean anything because you probably never read."

"You know what? I'd suggest you shut up right about now if you know what's good for ya," the stoat threatened.

"What? I can't help it that you were probably raised in a barn with folks that didn't know how to-"

"That's it! Seems like your parents never taught you when and when not to speak. 'Bout time you learn your lesson!"

As the stoat threw his wet rag on the ground and went to swing his fist at the mouthy skunk, a female black bear from the corner exclaimed, "Hey! Break it up, you two!"

The mustelid snapped back, "Mind your own business, will ya?"

"Silence!" boomed the wolverine guard from the opposite side of the room. After a momentary pause, he added, "And I better not see anyone else tryin' to incite a fight like that again!"

"You hear that, rodent?" the skunk whispered out of mockery. "He don't wanna see anyone tryin' t' pick a fight."

The ermine snarled under his breath, turning his head away from the mammal that had just spoke to him.

Skye turned away from what had just happened and went back to work. She didn't know all of the details of why the two were bickering with one another, but it didn't matter.

_Perhaps you get so bored here from a lack of ways to entertain yourself that you decided to start fights, _the vixen thought.

"Didn't expect to get a show like that as we worked," a voice that she recognized said in a quiet tone.

She turned her head to the left to see Pronk, that oryx she met the first time she was assigned to manual labor. "I wasn't anticipating that either," she replied. "What's the deal between those two, anyway?"

"They've always had bad blood with one another," Pronk replied. "The reason for that _is _pretty trivial, just like they went on about, so I'll just spare you all of the details. The story behind all of it is pretty stupid."

The arctic vulpine pointed to the black bear that was working in the corner of her vision. "And who is that bear?" she asked. "From what I can assume about her, she seems pretty sensical."

The oryx informed, "Her name is Elinor, and, yes, she _is _pretty sensical when it comes to things. I've gotten to know her quite well, actually, and she's always talking about her four children. From what I remember her telling me about them, her daughter has a passion for archery."

Skye nodded. "And what is the reason she was placed in here?"

"That should just be assumed."

"Leodore had ill feelings towards her and her family? Some kind of bone to pick with them, I presume?"

"Correct."

The arctic fox huffed. "That despicable lion. I hope he sees his reign come to its end."

"Hoping is about all we can do in these circumstances. You just-"

The sounds of someone else walking into the room silenced just about everyone present, and they all turned their heads to see a russet brown wolf sentry coming from another space within The Towers.

"Sir?" the canid said.

The wolverine guard in front of him asked back, "Yes?"

"New orders were given to Swinton and they say that we have to transport a prisoner in the Dark Lair to Leodore. The others will fill in for your position and watch all of them." The wolf gestured for him to step forward. "Follow me and I'll lead you down there."

The carcajou, not wanting to question the directive he was given, nodded his head and replied, "Yes, sir."

* * *

If anyone thought that The Towers were foul in stench, then they had yet to discover that the odor that lurked around The Dark Lair was even more offending. The wolverine cringed and shuddered at the scent and continued to follow the canid in front of him. It started to get a bit colder around him as he and the wolf guard in front of him made their descent, and they could start to hear the ramblings of some of the prisoners kept down here.

A red panda, who had presumably been keeping watch before they arrived, nodded as they approached him. He followed them on their side as they passed the first murky-looking cell that held a rabbit with a coat purely white fur, who wickedly showed his teeth.

"You don't want to get too close to that one," the red panda remarked. "He's got a vicious streak that stretches a mile wide."

"The _rabbit_?" the wolverine sentry asked out of prejudice.

"He's a killer, I tell you," was the response he received. "And if he wasn't protected by the best security we could bestow, he'd be tryin' to kill us with those teeth of his right now."

The three guards passed the next lockup that held a dark brown mink, who let out a shiver-inducing snarl and remarked that he could smell their fear. Following that one was a cell that held a margay, who was curled up in the corner, blubbering incoherently.

After walking passed a ferret, who was surprisingly more sane than the rest they had seen, who was kept behind bars, they reached the prisoner, a raccoon with a forlorn expression across his face.

"This is who we need to bring to Leodore," the wolf of the three informed.

After unlocking the cell that was holding the raccoon inside, they got a hold of him and lead him back up from where they came. The procyon, however, didn't put up a fuss like the sentries had anticipated him to, and he didn't say a single word either.

He knew very well that a prisoner of The Dark Lair was taken away to Leodore never came back, and he was quite quick to assume that that would be the fate he was about to meet.


	10. Maura

Paws clicked and clacked against the flooring of Leodore's empty throne room as the raccoon was escorted by two of the lion's strong guards. Seeing that the prisoner had been successfully brought before him, the feline grinned and set the half-empty goblet of red wine he had in his one paw on the tray resting on the table beside him.

"Xavier…" Leodore trailed, the wickedness practically spewing out of him through his voice.

Upon hearing his name being muttered, the raccoon gazed up at the tall lion, somewhat expressionless. He assumed the inevitable was about to happen within the next few minutes, and so he didn't show as much as fear that the next mammal might of.

Leodore slowly emerged from his seat and took a few steps towards Xavier. "You remember why I sent you to The Towers, don't you?"

The raccoon nodded his head. "Yes, Leodore," he whispered.

"Speak up!" the lion boomed in response, enough to make the prisoner standing in front of him jump just a little. "Don't act like you're some weak little mouse and speak up when you are being spoken to!"

"Yes, Leodore," Xavier repeated, this time a lot more audibly.

Leodore continued, "That was quite some time ago. Normally when I have the guards retrieve somebody from the Dark Lair, I make sure that they are immediately executed. That one friend of yours is a good example."

The raccoon's eyes widened at the mentioning of his friend. "Meeko?" he asked, a bit of shock now detectable in his voice. "What happened? What did you do to him?"

"While you were laying around in The Dark Lair, that raccoon had the gall to test me, saying he demanded that you be released. He even went on to say that he was willing to fight me for it, despite how stupid of an idea that is. I asked him who he thought he was to come and demand such out of me, like I was some magical granter of wishes. And you know what he did next? He proceeded to sprout some asinine story to me, about some firefly with an infatuation for an evening star." He paused a moment before continuing. "Soon after that, I had him killed right in front of me and I claimed his soul."

Xavier looked at Leodore in horror. "N-No…" he muttered shallowly.

"That is the truth, Xavier, as cruel as you may find it," the lion replied. "And if you need further proof that I now have claim of his soul…"

Leodore chuckled maliciously and stared downward, clenching both paws into fists. The prisoner in front of him watched, unable to believe what he was seeing as a cloud of greenish-colored smoke navigated around the tall feline's figure. As the hazy cloud went away, he saw that the lion that had been standing over him had somehow taken on the form of a raccoon. But not just any raccoon; it was the form of his friend that Leodore had just admitted to executing.

"You can… _shapeshift_?" Xavier said out of utter disbelief.

"I can," Leodore said, in a different tone of voice courtesy of the new form he had taken one. "When I take the soul of a mammal, I become capable of taking on their appearance, as well as their voice. It is an ability I have had for some time." Changing the subject back to what it was before, he said, "But let us get back to what we were first discussing, shall we? At this very moment, I am willing enough to give you a chance to redeem yourself from your previous wrongdoings. But you must do as I instruct you. You should consider yourself really lucky, Xavier, as this is something I don't normally do."

The procyon asked, "What is it that you wish for me to do, Leodore?"

The bushy tail of Leodore's raccoon form flickered, and he turned away from Xavier with his paws placed behind his back. The green, smog-looking cloud from just a few moments ago appeared over him, and he returned back to his actual lion appearance once again.

In his normal yet malicious voice, Leodore continued, "Are you aware of the current circumstances regarding the most recent events?"

"Do you mean the fighting tournament?" Xavier asked in reply. "If that is what you mean, then yes. At one point or another, I remember overhearing a few of the prison guards discussing the matter. They said that the competitors representing this realm are doing well this year."

"Don't remind me," the lion interrupted, casting a glare in his direction. "That is why I want to know something from you. I have heard—also thanks to the babbling from that friend of yours—that, prior to you getting yourself tossed into imprisonment, you have adapted quite some knowledge of dark sorcery. Is this true or was he bluffing to me?"

"What he was true."

"Have you, by any chance, achieved mastery of spells that involve the summoning or reanimating of the dead?"

"I have read much on the art of such things, but I have never performed such a task. I refrained myself from experimentation of such things years back, because I was always in fear that I would do something incorrect in the process. I remember the required chants, though, like it was yesterday."

Leodore slowly approached Xavier once again. "Then consider this the first time you will put all of your dedicated studies into action. As you just reminded me, this realm, thanks to its newest fighters, is proposing a greater threat than it ever has before. But I must make sure, by whatever means possible, that _I _win so my realm can merge with this sickening one."

"So where exactly does my knowledge of sorcery happen to come into all of this?"

"That is just what I was getting to. _You_, Xavier, will assist me in the resurrection of someone I have a feeling will be valuable to me."

"Who would that be, Leodore?"

"Her name was Maura. From what accounts I've come across that were written about her, she had the gifted power to manipulate anyone's mind and make them do as she commanded. She had devised her own plans of what she would do with such a power, but none them ever became reality. One of the mammals she thought was an ally of hers turned out to be a benefactor, and ended up, after hearing her words, turned on her in exchange for a good sum of money. Needless to say, she was put to death shortly after and buried on a hilltop."

Xavier simply nodded as he took in the information bestowed to him by the lion. At this point, the only two choices for him, whether he liked it or not, were to do as Leodore instructed or have his life cut short by him and his soul possibly claimed. "Whatever you request of me," he said, "I will do."

"That is great to hear," Leodore said with a chuckle. "Great to hear, indeed." He turned his head to the side and boomed, "Maximus!"

The figure of a white horse with a blondish-colored mane emerged from the other room. He bowed his head and said, "Yes, Leodore?"

Leodore responded, "You are going to be joining us tonight as we restore life to a mammal that I believe will help us in our plan to ensure our victory. We will set out to do this task some time after nightfall."

* * *

_ **Some Time Later...** _

When Xavier had been studying sorcery that involved the invocation or revival of those that were no longer alive, he read of it without ever thinking he would have the ability—or the bravery—to attempt such things. He had always felt concerns about him performing such a thing improperly, and, from what he had always read, failure to do sorcery that was advanced as this could have bad consequences.

But here he was now, standing beside Leodore on the very top of an unoccupied hill. The lion had lead him to this particular part of the land, relying only on the information that was provided by the things he had read about this mammal they were attempting to bring back to life. Just as it said in the writing, in the very middle of the grass, populated by various patches of weeds, was a thick stake that appeared to be pushed a good bit into the dirt below them.

Around where that aged wooden post remained untouched, a small circle of grass looked like it was starting to glow around it. The spell was going successfully so far.

Xavier was feeling quite nervous as he stood there, but tried to shrug off what his concerns and focus with as much bravery as possible. The very last thing that completed the revival was the final chant. That series of words had been repeated over and over within the guides that he had spent a good bit of his time reading through, and he remembered them quite clearly.

He started to mutter in a vernacular that was unfamiliar to Leodore, gradually getting louder as he finished what he was declaring. The lion had no idea what the words the raccoon was chanting meant when translated, but he just hoped that what he was doing turned out the way he wanted it to.

Afterwards, Xavier said to Leodore, "The spell is now complete."

Shorty after saying that, a chilly nighttime breeze brushed passed, making the raccoon shiver just a bit. That particular portion the grass surrounding them still and continued to dimly glow.

Just then, a skeletal paw emerged suddenly from the ground below, specks of the soil scattering around the grass it shot up from. Xavier couldn't help but jump at the fact that this was actually happening in front of his eyes. Leodore simply watched what was happening with widened eyes, not moving a muscle. The procyon proceeded to take a few steps out of precaution, and the horse that had been ordered to accompany them got into some sort of fighting position.

The two watched as the skeleton of a feline emerged completely from where it had been resting. Shortly after, it crawled completely out from the ground and ended up on its back. What followed looked as if they were watching the decomposition of a body in reverse. The mammal being quickly reanimated before their eyes let out a bloodcurdling shriek, making Xavier even more on the defense.

A few seconds passed, and the figure of a lioness that had been successfully brought back to life sat upright before them. She took a few gasping breaths and looked up at the two that were standing in front of her. As another breeze, much thicker than the previous one, brushed passed, the lioness shivered and covered a part of her unclothed figure.

Leodore was the first to take a step closer to her. "Maura," he greeted.

Just then, before he could say anything else, she spat, "Where is she? Where is Amiya? That conniving wolf thought she could just betray me for a little bit of currency. I'll show that traitor when I have her head!"

"The Amiya that you speak of is long gone," Leodore said. "You are not in the same period in time."

Maura scoffed. "You speak nonsense!" she replied.

"I am afraid not. You have been dead for quite some time, and it was the mammal behind me that brought you back into the waking life. Look out at the land and you'll see that a good bit of change has happened since your demise."

The lioness picked herself up off of the grass, stumbling for a moment as if she were feeling lightheaded. Still shivering due to the cold air of the night, she glimpsed at what she could see from the hilltop. Where nothing both nature once stood, much to her surprise, had now been replaced with a series of constructions and the like.

Maura turned back to Leodore. "I guess what you say is true," she said. "But if you are the ones who made me alive again, might I ask what it was for?"

The lion replied to her, "I've read the accounts that existed of you. The ones that talked about your manipulative abilities, as well as your wishes for the downfall of the wretched world you were born into. I have good faith that you would be able to help me with the dilemma I currently find myself in."

"What dilemma would that be?" the lioness replied.

"The tournament proposed by the Elder Gods to maintain balance between realms is going on at this moment in time. Are you willing to use your powers to help me ensure victory over this realm?"

There was a momentary pause. Maura considered the offer for just a moment, and responded with a faint nod of her head.

Leodore laughed under his breath. "Splendid," he muttered in reply. He turned around to those behind him. "In that case, let us take you back to give you some clothing and something to eat."

* * *

Maura quickly quaffed down the water that she received from one of Leodore's servers, wiping some of it that was dripping from her chin with the garment that had been given to her to wear. She exhaled a long sigh as she rested her back against the chair she was sitting in.

Just then, another one of Leodore's attendants, a large brown bear, stepped into the room as he carried a large ceramic jug filled with more water. "Does she need more water?" he simply asked.

As Maura shook her head, Leodore replied, "No, Kenai. You may return to your post."

The bear nodded and walked away, heading back to where he had just come from.

After he left, Maura said, "So you told me you wish to claim this realm so you can merge it with yours."

"Yes," was Leodore's response. "All I need is one more victory and this place in all of its entirety will be mine. But the competitors this year are making that a little bit less of a possibility. And, just like any of the other realms, I am bound to the rules and safeguards set in stone by those odious Elder Gods. Because of that, I cannot-"

The lioness interrupted, "I believe I know of a possible way you can secure yourself victory."

"Tell me. What is it?"

"Have you ever considered taking control of the realm through forceful invasion?"

"A forceful invasion?" Leodore repeated, shaking his head. "No, I don't believe that is possible."

"Those rules you just spoke of, if you ask me, are merely fictitious. They are nothing but threats made by those jester gods to keep us under fear. Even then, from what texts exist about their origins, I don't believe I have ever heard any portion of it exclude taking such actions."

"Is that true?" Leodore grinned, rubbing his paws together as he let out a chuckle.

* * *

** _Meanwhile…_ **

The shrill noise of the cell being closed filled Skye's sensitive ears. Once she had been locked inside her small, dismal space yet again, she placed her paws upon the rusty bars and watched as the sentry that had locked her in slowly walked away.

The vixen turned her head just a little bit to the right as he walked off, her eyes taking notice of the ring of large and rusty keys he had securely in his clutches. It was right then and there that a cloud of thought from an earlier time started to gather within her brain again.

While performing her round of labor alongside the others that were imprisoned here, she started determining a way that she could possibly escape The Towers. But based on the plan that she conjured up in her mind, it would have to wait until the next morning, when their penal duties were to be performed once again.

Attempting escape was undoubtedly a great and daring risk for her to take, but it was one that she was quite willing to take. Not only because she would have freedom from where she had been placed, but also because she wanted to help others that had been unfairly sentenced here by Leodore get out in the process.

Turning away from where she had been looking out from, she took two steps over and crouched down on the ground.

_Tomorrow, _she thought, _can't come soon enough._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there, readers! Sorry for such a delay on this chapter. Was having some pretty bad writer's block while trying to get this one out. I know that this chapter, unlike the previous ones, was centered primarily around Leodore, by I hope that it was still enjoyable. We'll be getting back into the action with Nick, Judy, and some the others next time around, though.
> 
> I also hid a few references within this chapter. Anybody manage to spot them? :)
> 
> As always, any feedback, whether it be good or bad, is gladly appreciated. And thank you SO much for reading this story!
> 
> 'Til next time! :)


	11. An Invasion and An Escape

Unable to fall asleep, Nick found himself walking around outside of where his accommodation stood once again. He believed that, perhaps, a little trek around the area would tire him out just enough to get a good night's sleep.

As he made a turn, he saw that Judy had been sitting cross-legged on the ground, just as she was when they spoke to one another the previous night. The fox started to walk up to the lagomorph, who appeared to be looking down at something that she had resting in her paw. He simply nodded his head as he sat down on the grass, looking over and noticing that what she was holding onto looked like a deck of cards.

"What do you have there, Carrots?" he asked out of plain curiosity.

Judy looked over at him. "Oh, these? I found these in my lodging, like someone who had been in there before had left them there. They're called tarot cards, and they're supposed to give you answers to your questions and stuff."

"Really?" Nick replied. "How does that work?"

"An old friend of mine showed how to read them and what they mean, but I don't really remember everything she said. That was quite some time ago." The rabbit placed three of the cards on the grass beside him. "Now each of these are supposed to be your past, present, and future."

Judy flipped over the first card that was supposed to symbolize the past. The image on the card that was unveiled depicted a red heart with three swords pierced through it. "That's called the Three of Swords, I think. Supposed to represent a time of sadness."

Nick simply responded with a nod of his head, internally thinking that the card with its definition could be pertaining to the loss of his mother. Putting the negative thought of it away for just a moment, he watched as the second card—the one that represented the present—get flipped over.

"Five of Wands," Judy informed. "That means there is some sort of rival being faced in the present moment."

"Sounds pretty accurate," the vulpine replied. "There _is _a lion that's planning to merge another world with ours, so I'd consider that a rival, wouldn't you?"

Judy looked down to hide the faintest of smiles, flipping over the third and final card. "And here's the future," she remarked. "The Sun. I remember being told that this one's supposed to mean that there's joy that's soon to come."

"So do you think that means we win against this Leodore guy?" Nick inquired.

"I don't know," the rabbit responded. "I'm guessing that's what it's supposed to mean. The joy that card's supposed to talk about could mean literally anything. But I guess it's a little silly to base the future on what a card says, huh?"

Nick shook his head in disagreement. "Honestly, I don't think it's silly at all. After everything I've experienced that I didn't think that was physically possible, I've probably become the most open-minded mammal on the planet."

* * *

_ **Meanwhile...** _

"Lord Bogo," a voice muttered from behind. "You were just who I was hoping to encounter."

The buffalo turned around to see Leodore standing right in front of him with that look on his muzzle that just screamed that he was up to something sinister. "Leodore," he replied, crossing his arms, "what is it that you want?"

Leodore replied, "I have come to make an offer with you, regarding the tournament."

"And you believe I would have any want to accept any offer proposed by you?"

"Do not be so quick to jump to a conclusion, Lord Bogo. You need to hear out the idea I have first."

Lord Bogo huffed under his breath. "Tell me, then."

The lion continued, "The remaining warriors of _your_ realm will fight against a series of rivals in my realm of Outworld. If they succeed, I shall abandon my desire to eliminate this already-putrid realm. But if they happen to lose against me, everything that surrounds us right now will perish."

There was a momentary pause from the buffalo, but he soon turned his back to Leodore and held up a hoof. "As I said, I will never accept any proposition from you," he responded.

Leodore grunted under his breath, clenching a paw into a tightly-held fist. "You will regret that decision," he snarled. "You will regret it immensely."

As Lord Bogo slowly walked away from where he was standing, the lion started to laugh to himself

* * *

_ **Some Time Later...** _

"You mean to tell me you're friends with the guy who made the whole 'Put It in the Bag' slogan for that anti-littering campaign? Geez, that's somethin'."

Judy looked over at Nick with surprise as the two continued to walk forward in the darkness.

"Yeah," Nick said with a shrug, "Humphrey and I have been good friends for quite some time now. The bear and I first met each other back when I was in-"

Just then, a sort of rumbling noise stopped both the fox and rabbit dead in their tracks. What followed that uncanny sensation was the sound of many pairs of paws trampling the ground all at once.

"Do you hear that?" Nick asked, even though it was quite obvious that the rabbit heard it.

"Yeah, I did," Judy responded. "We-"

A grunt not too far away, coming from behind a series of trees beyond the path, arose from the air. They both could tell that the voice that made was none other than Lord Bogo. And from what they could assume, there was something troubling occurring where they heard him make the utterance.

The bunny looked over at Nick, who seemed to be frozen in position. "Come on," she compelled. "We better get over there and find out what's happening!"

* * *

As if there very lives depended on it, they sprinted down the dark path. They could hear the troubling sounds coming from up ahead, and from that the two of them could tell that they were getting closer to where they needed to go.

Once the passageway got clearer and more spacious around them, the first thing that both sets of eyes saw was a large and yellow swirling mass that unexplainable opened up near them. Coming from out of the vortex, which they could only assume was Leodore's doing, was an army of large mammals, consisting mostly of felines as well as a good number of ungulates that stomped their way forward. The looks on all of their faces was enough of an indication that they all meant harm to whoever stood before them.

From across the corner they could see Lord Bogo, who was trying his best to fight off some of them. He continued to produce energy bolts in his grasp and direct them towards those approaching him, but he alone could only a small fraction of the mass exodus. He turned himself around slightly to the right, preparing another bolt in between his hooves to send to one who darting off in another direction, away from the rest of them. But he ended up getting hit from behind by a leopard, only to receive a powerful kick to his stomach from a rhino shortly afterwards. The buffalo placed his hooves over where he had just gotten kicked, hesitant for a moment but far from willing to back down.

"Holy-" Nick started before his jaw dropped at what he was seeing.

"Lord Bogo!" Judy cried from where she stood. She pointed a paw towards him. "Behind you!"

The buffalo managed to hear the lagomorph's remark, quickly turning his body around and sending a roundhouse kick to a wildebeest that had planned to attack him from behind. Right after that happened, Lord Bogo dissipated out of view, causing confusion among those that were first coming for him.

As Nick and Judy's eyes darted, looking for where he had teleported off to, the buffalo reappeared right behind them. The fox and rabbit turned their bodies around to see the somewhat-dejected look on his face.

"Dude, what the hell is goin' on right now?" the vulpine blurted.

Lord Bogo gazed out at what was happening before all of their eyes, shaking his head. "It seems Leodore has decided to use tactics of invasion to try and get his way."

"Well, we can't just stand 'ere!" Nick said in reply, proceeding to dart off towards the legion of mammals.

As he quickly ran away from view, Judy outstretched a paw in an attempt to get his attention. "No, Nick!" she exclaimed. "Wait!"

"Their army is too plentiful!" Lord Bogo boomed.

But he wasn't listening to the buffalo's warning. Instead, he ran up to fight those that were present, only to realize how powerful the army Leodore had unleashed truly was.

* * *

** _Some Time Later…_ **

_W-What happened? _Nick thought, his eyelids fluttering open to see Lord Bogo looking over him. _How am I on the ground?_

That was when the memories of what had occurred last came back to him. He went off to try and get rid of some of the mammals that the lion designated to invade the area. From what the fox could recall, he managed to deliver a kick to an oncoming enemy when two snuck from behind him and caught him off guard. From there, he tried to regain composure, but Lord Bogo ended up being right. They were too plentiful in number.

_Damn, what was I thinking when I sprinted off like that?_

Nick lifted his back up from the ground, placing a paw over his back where he could recall receiving a good strike. "Huh?" he mumbled. "Someone get the number of that rab-" He paused a moment, looking around for the gray leporine that had been there when the unexpected invasion began.

"Wait a minute, where's Judy?" he said with a bit of panic. "Is she okay?"

Lord Bogo replied, "Yes, she is quite okay. But I am now realizing what needs to happen."

The buffalo stretched a hoof out in front of Nick. The vulpine grabbed a hold of it and used it to hoist himself back up from where he was.

Nick got a look around at the outcome of everything that happened, a look of disbelief overtaking his muzzle. The figures of mammals could be seen in the distance, laying out cold on the ground. The fox could only assume that these were some of the horde that had been taken out by Lord Bogo.

Just then, he turned his head to the side to see the rabbit he had been concerned about running forward.

"Carrots!" Nick exclaimed. "Are you okay?"

Judy responded with a simple nod of her head. Looking onto the horizon, she remarked, "That attack came out of nowhere. I don't understand the motive behind it all, though."

"I understand it quite clearly," Lord Bogo replied. "Before all of this happened, Leodore approached me and tried to persuade me to accept a shift in the tournament. He wants it to take place in Outworld, where he originally came from before gaining his status in this realm. As I responded to his proposal with rejection, he said I would regret that decision immensely. Perhaps this is what he meant; he wishes to keep us under threat until I accept his terms."

* * *

** _Meanwhile…_ **

"Rise and shine, folks! Your duty begins now, so get off your lazy behinds and get ready!"

The arctic vixen slowly opened her eyes, putting a grin. The call from the sentry came a little bit earlier than Skye had originally anticipated, but that was quite fine to her. She already knew what she had planned to do, as well as how she was going to carry everything out. Her dreams, from what sleep she actually got earlier, consisted of her escaping alongside the others. Now was the time to make said dream actually become reality.

Skye lifted her body up from the corner of her cell that she been propped up against as she rested. Nodding her head to the guard that came walking by in her direction, she approached the bars directly and continued to smile. She could hear the sounds of dismal grunts and moans coming from the adjacent cells, the voices that made them currently unaware of her plan to set as many of them as possible free from this place.

The guard that proceeded to unlock the cell looked at her a bit strangely, wondering internally why she was in such a positive mood, but dismissed all of his suspicions. He grabbed her by the arm and lead her out in the hallway that everyone walked down to go perform their designated labor several times before.

"You seem a hell of a lot more willing to get started today," the sentry remarked. "Very unusual for someone locked up in 'ere."

Skye grinned even more, her eyes darting over to the stoat that was slowly escorting her to where she needed to go. "That's because you don't know just yet what I have planned."

Just then, she powerfully freed her one arm from the grip of the guard, swiftly turning her body around sending a hard jab to his stomach. The stoat was actually taken by surprise; there had never been someone that attempted to do that to him before. Before he could react or try to defend himself, he ended up a forceful kick in the exact same spot on his body. The power of the kick was strong enough to send him backwards a fell spaces, and the rusty keys he had been clutching onto flew from out of his paw.

As they hit floor with a sound clang, Skye turned her back from the stoat and swiped them from off of the ground. "You could I caught you _off guard_," she joked.

From there she ran off down the hall with the keys clutched tightly in her paw. _I can't believe that worked, _the vixen thought, having surprised herself.

She approached the first cell, now unsure of which key was the one that opened it up. Lucky for her, she was successful on her second attempt. The warthog and meerkat inside looked at her with a bit of shock, unsure of what was happening.

Skye gestured for him to come out of the cell, and he quickly did so. Just then, as they were darting off, they heard the voice of the stoat she had knocked down to the ground asking to get a hold of who was getting away. The arctic fox, though, tried her best to disregard as she approach Pronk's cell.

"What are you doing?" the oryx said with a whisper.

"Setting you free from this awful place," Skye said as she fumbled with the lock on the outside of the cell. "I'm sure your Bucky awaits you somewhere out there."

The antelope wanted to tear up, but dismissed it and bolted out of the cell as soon as it was opened. As Skye carried on her plan, he ran a few spaces away from her as quick as his hooves could carry him. Just as things were going successfully, she heard the booming voices of the guards behind her, urging for them to stop or there would be more serious consequences.

She didn't listen to them, though, and instead gestured for the other prisoners tagging behind her to follow her lead. She threw the keys over to Pronk, who luckily caught them in his hooves. He did as she instructed him to do, unlocking the next cell as the warthog among them fended off the guards, knocking them to the ground.

"You're gonna regret doin' that, pig!" one of the guards snarled.

The warthog huffed. "_Pig?_ Are you talkin' to _me_?" he exclaimed as he charged towards him and knocked him down to the ground again, this time more forcefully.

"Come on!" Skye beckoned. "We have to keep going!"

A weasel guard that seemed to be escorting a ferret caught sight of them, running up to the vixen and shouting, "Stop! Don't move any further!"

Skye quickly defended against the guard with a swift jab to his side. As he stumbled in the slightest way possible, she sent a high kick in his direction that sent him off of his balance and onto the floor.

The ferret that was previously being escorted by said guard looked at her with both awe and utter shock.

"Come on!" she said to him. "We'll get you out of here!"

And he did just that, not even taking a second to think about it. This was very well his best chance at escaping this gods-awful construction.

"I must get to her!" the black-footed ferret said, not to the others but to himself to hear out loud. "I must get to Judy!"

"Seize her!" a voice cried from the side as they all continued to run.

The others continued to follow Skye as they got closer and closer to the exit, the very thing they had hoped to see for quite some time. They all ran out into the outside world, scattering in the different directions as they did so.

The vixen, however, was grabbed from behind before she could step outside.

"Not so fast," a guard muttered as he placed both of her arms behind her back. "I'd say we need to take you to Leodore and talk to him about this disastrous deed of yours."

* * *

** _Meanwhile…_ **

He wasn't exactly sure where to go, but all he really needed to do was keep running. Travis sprinted on nimble paws through the terrain down the hill on which the place he had been imprisoned in stood. Although he could feel a good bit of pain coursing through his back at the present moment, he ignored it and simply pushed through it.

After all, he had to find Judy…

From the very moment that they had taken him, a good bit of concern for her started to take form. He needed to get back to wherever she was located now and just let her that he was okay and wasn't _severely_ injured.

In the beginning, the ferret didn't exactly get along with the rabbit that he needed to find at the moment. When she had first become a military officer alongside him and the rest of the crew, she had become the target of his many ridicules and rhetorics.

"Hop on back to the carrot farm," was always what he used to say to her back then, even though she never took that statement to heart.

But as time went by and Judy showed him and the others that she was not just a dumb bunny, he started to respect her more and more.

And now he just needed to find out wherever the hell she was right now.

Had his communication device not been confiscated from him, he would have simply triangulated her signal. But, of course, things were a little more complicated than that.

Travis tried to locate himself through the path he continued to run through, only to accidentally trip over a thick tree root that was poking from out of the ground. He took a bad fall, but shrugged it off and kept running.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there, readers! Well this chapter came to a heck of a lot quicker than I was expecting to! I'll admit, though, the sequence of Skye escaping was a little bit tough to write, as I wanted to make sure it came out the way I wanted it to. So hopefully I did a good job on that part of the story.
> 
> This chapter was a little bit shorter than I wanted it to be, but I hope that it was still a good one nonetheless.
> 
> As always, any feedback, whether it be good or bad, is gladly appreciated.
> 
> 'Til next time! :)


	12. Outworld

Just as she anticipated prior to being escorted to him, Leodore was furious with what had occurred at the tower that she and several others managed to escape from. As he continued on in that booming voice of his, Skye let out an almost-inaudible sigh and looked over at him.

The lion bolted over and kicked a nearby surface holding up a fragile silver decoration that looked like a dragon. The ornamental object, courtesy of his aggression, hit the floor and ended up shattering into several pieces. In Skye's mind, his mood right now was like that of a kit throwing a tantrum over something they didn't receive.

After that had occurred, Leodore took a few deep breaths, slowly walking away from the mess he had made and over towards where he had been sitting before. He placed a paw over his forehead and started to rub it over the area.

"I don't understand," he started to mutter. "I just don't understand. Why is it, Skye, that you insist on causing nothing but trouble for me? Do you want to tell me why?" Silence filled the air. After a few seconds of it had passed, he continued, "Not only did _you_ manage to escape, but you've _also _helped several other mammals that I placed in there for _damn_ good reasons break free."

Skye shook her head. "And what would those reasons be?" she snapped.

Leodore boomed, "Because _they _have done wrongdoings towards who has superiority over-"

"Exactly," the vixen interrupted. "That supercilious manner of yours is the cause of such vexations."

"What?" the lion snarled between clenched teeth.

The arctic fox replied, "Your haughtiness is going to the very thing that results in your downfall. It's a simple case of cause and effect. Egotism never helped any mammal, and has only caused more dilemmas. You won't be aware of that, though, because it will be too late for you to fix your-"

"That is it!" Leodore shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice producing quite an echo. "I have had enough of your foolishness! You're going to leave me with no other choice."

Two of the lion's guards grabbed Skye's arms with a tight grip and held them behind her back, dragging her to another room. Letting out a huff under her breath, the vixen remarked, "I'm not afraid of you."

The feline laughed under his breath, shaking his head at how she never knew when to just quit and remain quiet. He looked at her blankly and replied, "A precedent will be made of you when we all transport ourselves to Outworld. Because your time is now limited."

* * *

_ **Meanwhile...** _

He had been scampering for a good bit of time now, and fatigue was just overcoming him. Puffing and panting, the ferret's speed started to gradually decrease. His side from where he had bruised during his time he spent in the tower he escaped from was aching more than it did previously, but he continued to ignore it. He would just have to do with the pain until it all eventually dissipated.

Travis stopped a nearby tree, gently rubbing a paw over where the pain was coursing throughout him. He quickly turned his head around, making sure one of the guards—gods forbid—was following him. No one was there; just him and the nature that surrounded him.

After catching his breath, he took off running once again. The ferret managed his way through the terrain just fine, and he was starting to see an end to this more woodsy kind of passage. He finally put on a smile; to him, seeing this clearing was like seeing the light leading to the gates of heaven at this point in time. He scurried on even quicker paws, as if he were a runner in a track-and-field event, but tumbled over some unseen object within his path. From there, the black-footed mustelid toppled down a small elevation, and he soon found himself landing flat on his face.

Travis grunted as he picked his head up. "Dammit," he muttered to himself.

Just then, as he recollected himself, he saw something—more like _someone_—in the distance. And from the looks of it, whoever it was that he was seeing appeared to be trotting up towards him. As he looked at the figure, it seemed to disappear from his vision, making him confused.

Not even two seconds later, what he saw reappeared just as mysteriously as it disappeared, this time right in front of him. With it being so close to him now, he now saw that the figure belonged to a strong cape buffalo, who looked at him with seriousness in his face.

Travis first reacted with a look of fright, hoisting himself back up and preparing himself to scurry to somewhere else. Some of the guards he had encountered back in that tower were disreputable mammals to say the least, so his first instinct was that the buffalo meant him harm.

"Stop!" he heard the deep voice of the mammal behind him bellow.

Travis immediately came to a halt, slowly turning around so he faced who had called out to him. "W-What do you want?" he said.

The buffalo remained where he was, a hoof outstretched. "I won't hurt you," he replied. "In fact, I've come to help you. A friend of yours is a rabbit who goes by the name of Hopps, right?"

The ferret nodded. "Y-Yeah," he answered with a bit of hesitation.

Just then, the large bovine disappeared from view again, only to reappear only two inches away from him once again. "She has been worried about where you were, and we've been searching for you."

"_We?_" Travis inquired.

"I have also come to heal you. I can sense that you are experiencing some pain right now."

The mustelid wanted to ask more question, but instead remained silent and replied with another nod of his head.

The bovine in front of him made a motion with hooves, and a glint of blue light encircled them as he placed them together. As he stretched them out in front of him, the ray emitted from his grasp and travelled towards Travis, who looked at him in shock. The light encompassed where he had been hurting for quite awhile, and the pain immediately started to seize.

After the blue blaze dissipated out of sight, the ferret felt better than he had probably ever felt before. "Woah," he said. "It's like all of the pain just suddenly vanished."

The buffalo replied, "I am glad to know that I was capable of healing you."

Travis, though, still had more questions. "Who are you, and how were able to do what you just did?" he couldn't help but inquire. "I didn't think healing mammals instantaneously was even possible."

"I am called Lord Bogo." The bovine bowed his head. "My story is quite a long one, but I will explain why I came here once I get you back to where Hopps is right now." He held an arm out in front of the mustelid. "Hold onto my hoof."

Travis hesitantly did as he was told. Once he had placed his paw onto Lord Bogo's hoof, the views of where they were standing quickly vanished before his eyes.

* * *

The next thing he knew, Travis had somehow been transported from one location to another. He looked around him with a great amount of confusion. _How did that just happen?_

He let go of Lord Bogo's hoof, proceeding to get a good look at his new surroundings. He could hear two voices engaging in some sort of conversation, and he turned his head to see Judy talking with a tall red fox.

As the gray rabbit happened to turn her head around, she caught sight of him and looked at him with a good bit of shock. "Travis!" she remarked, running up to where he and the buffalo were standing.

"Judy," he replied as she and the fox behind her approached him.

"Thank goodness," the leporine said, breathing a sigh of relief. "We did a ton of investigation, trying to find out where you had gone to, and we couldn't find anything. I don't know where you were, but I'm just glad that you're safe and don't have any bad injuries." She turned around to the vulpine standing beside her. "Nick, this is the member of my crew that we've been searching for."

Nick made a salute to the ferret. "How's it goin', Sarge?"

Travis nodded at the fox before carrying on with the conversation. "I _was_ hurting a little bit ago," he said to Judy. He turned around to the tall bovine standing by his side. "But it was thanks to this guy that I ended up bein' healed in a split-second. I can't thank enough for doing that."

Lord Bogo looked over at the mustelid and replied, "Your gratitude is much appreciated."

"Even though I'm still a bit confused as to what he did…" Travis trailed.

Nick chimed in, "That's 'cause Lord Bogo is actually a god."

"A god?" the ferret replied in disbelief, staring over at the cape buffalo.

Lord Bogo nodded with a faint smile. "That is true. As I said to you before, it is quite a long story leading up to this moment."

The bovine went on to repeat his story to him. He proceeded to tell him about the tournament, how he came down and took on the form of a buffalo, as well as the situation that they now found themselves currently in. As he was telling him the details regarding the invasion that Leodore surprised them with, Travis wasn't sure what to think.

Before Lord Bogo could continue any further, though, the sound of another voice running up to where everyone was standing greeted his ears. Turning hid body around, he caught sight of a certain striped rabbit sprinting up towards him. The look on the lagomorph's face indicated that there was some sort of trouble that he had come to tell them about.

"Jack!" Lord Bogo remarked.

The buck came to a halt, pausing for a moment to collect his breath. After getting a gasp of air, he cried out, "I had a vision."

The buffalo looked at him and replied, "A vision? What sort of vision?"

"I was meditating when it happened," the striped bunny informed. "I saw Leodore and that arctic vixen that was on his team."

"Skye," Lord Bogo said.

The jackrabbit continued in a rapid pace, "And in the vision I heard him saying about how he was going to take her to somewhere called Outworld, and that an example of her would be made there. I'm afraid something bad is going to happen to her. I believe we need to help prevent something from happening to her somehow"

"Slow down for just a moment," the bovine ushered to him. "What makes you believe that we must save a member of _Leodore's_ team from uncertain doom?"

"In the vision, I heard her mumbling something. 'The buck will save me,' I think is what she was saying. I also know for a fact that she doesn't wish to take part in any sort of villainy. We ended up encountering one another some time ago. She told me then that being a part of Leodore's team was a life that she never asked for."

"Sounds like someone has a crush," Nick couldn't help but joke as he listened to what the striped rabbit was saying.

Jack looked in the vulpine's direction and said, "This is a _serious_ situation, fox. I feel as if I had this vision because I'm supposed to help this mammal. I believe there's even a possibility that she could become an ally of our realm if we do so."

"So what do we do now?" Judy asked.

"As I said before," Lord Bogo replied, "unless we participate in what he now has planned, he will probably continue to threaten us with tactics such as the invasion. I must consult the Elder Gods, and tell them that I accept Leodore's propositions."

The buffalo walked away from the group, going a good distance away from them. He got down on his knees, looking up at the sky with his arms open wide. He appeared to proclaiming something out loud, but he was saying they weren't exactly sure of. He remained where he was for a good bit of time, and the others waited for him to come back and tell them what was to happen next.

A moment of silence had passed, and Lord Bogo got up and walked over to them with a look of determination on his face.

"Well?" Nick asked. "What now?"

The bovine looked over at the tod and simply replied, "All of us must travel to Outworld."

* * *

** _Later…_ **

"Well, well, well…" Leodore said as the group of mammals walked in. "It seems that the representatives of the realm I am _so_ close to taking over have arrived."

Nick, Judy, Jack, Lord Bogo, and Travis all strolled into the throne-looking room located in the realm of had looked as if this place had been some sort of fortress at one point or another, but had been abandoned for quite some time. Based on the look and condition of the walls that encompassed them, the room had went a long time without being cleaned or kept in shape.

"Someone oughta hire housekeeping or somethin', 'cause this place is a freakin' dump," Nick remarked.

Pointing a paw to where he had heard the voice, Travis chimed in, "And I'm assuming who just spoke to us is that Leodore mammal we were talkin' about earlier."

Pushing his way through the other mammals on either side of him, Jack made his way over towards where they heard Leodore's voice, a stern look on his muzzle.

"Jack, wait a minute!" Lord Bogo beckoned.

But the buck wasn't listening. Instead, he marched straight up to a chair that looked as if it were carved out of some kind of stone. It was there that the lion was sitting, and to his sides were two members of his fighting delegation.

"Where is she?" the striped lagomorph inquired with a serious tone of voice.

"Where is who?" Leodore answered. "I'm afraid your question is much too vague."

Jack grunted, a paw balling up into a small fist. "Where is Skye and what have you done with her?"

The lion chuckled, slowly emerging from his seat so it looked as if he were standing over the jackrabbit. "She made it evident that she now allies herself with you good-for-nothing mammals. So I sent her elsewhere."

"She better not be dead," Jack snarled under his breath, just loud enough for the feline to hear him.

"Dead?" Leodore echoed before laughing once again. "You think I had her killed? What do you think I am, some sort of monster? And what makes I'm going to tell you the location of this mammal? I'm afraid that you mammals have much more to face."

"Leodore, I demand-"

"You will demand nothing out of me!" the lion said, silencing the leporine before him. "I've dealt with enough blabbering prior to this moment. You will now face an opponent."

Leodore turned to his right, pointing in that direction. He then made some sort of waving motion with his paws, and a trail of yellow light enveloped around him and the other mammals standing beside him. Within an instance, the feline and the others disappeared/

_How cowardly of him to just vanish like that, _Jack thought. He turned his head to see a snow leopard in purple pants and a brown sash emerging from that area. The spotted feline assumed a fierce-looking fighting stance and menacingly glared over at the rabbit, his teeth clenched. This had to be the opponent that Leodore just spoke of.

"Our battle will be legendary, rabbit," the leopard croaked.

In that moment, Jack got into his fighting stance, ready to take on this foe Leodore had selected for him. "Show me what you can do," he breathed.

And with that, the combat between the two mammals began.


	13. Searching For Skye

Some time after defeating the opponent Leodore gave to him before vanishing, Jack was found by the others meditating outside of the fortress in ruin. His eyes were as he sat with his legs crossed on top of a large rock.

"So, what are we supposed to now?" Nick asked.

Judy started to reply, "I honestly don't have a clue. I think that we oughta-"

Just then, Jack's eyes suddenly opened and he released a gasp for air that startled the others that were all now looking over at him. "I… I think I-"

"You had another vision during your meditation, I presume," Lord Bogo said, finishing the rabbit's words.

Still looking as if he were still a little bit flustered, the buck replied, "I did. I think I might have seen the place that they took Skye to."

"Tell me what you saw," the cape buffalo beckoned.

Jack tried to give Lord Bogo and the others as good of a description as he could. "There wasn't much too see, really," he said informatively. "It was mostly dark, but I could see that the walls looked like they were formed by rock, almost like a cavern. But in the middle there was the huge circular lockup, and it looked nothing like the ones you would see in quod. And it looked like it was suspended over some sort of chasm, with these large spikes at the bottom. It looked as if someone would be impaled if they fell into the gorge."

"And Skye was inside this lockup you speak of?"

"Yes, Lord Bogo. She was inside of it."

"Did you happen to hear anyone say anything within this vision of yours?"

"Not much. They only thing I remember was someone I couldn't see muttering to the vixen. I heard something that sounded like, 'No one would be able to hear you cry from this far in the east.'"

"So it seems she is being held somewhere in the far east portion of Outworld."

"Okay," Nick chimed in, "so we've already stated the obvious. There's just one problem: Where the heck in the east is this specific place he thinks he's seeing?"

Lord Bogo looked over at the fox, pointing a hoof out something way out in the distance that looked miniscule where they stood. "Do you see that one tall building out that way, Nicholas?" he asked.

Nick looked over in the direction the buffalo was pointing in, unable to see much. "Yeah, but not too well," he replied. "Had I known I was going to spot stuff in the distance, I would have made sure to have my old binoculars from my days in the Ranger Scouts. You mean that steeple-looking thing out there, right?"

"Right," Lord Bogo responded with a nod of his head. "It is a good possibility that that is the place she remains captive. I can see if it is possible to transport us near enough to where we must go, so the venture there is lesser in length."

* * *

"Uh, I'm not thinkin' this where we're supposed t' be," Nick said. "You oughta make sure that inner GPS of yours is set to go to the right destination next time."

After Lord Bogo had teleported them all, they ended finding themselves in some sort of dimly-light yet spacious hallway. From the door that remained partially open a few feet away from them, they could see some sort of orangish glow coming from the place the entry lead to. They could also feel heat coming from the other room and into the hall, as if there were sudden strike of humidity lingering in this one spot.

"Where are we?" Judy said, being the first to question where exactly they had teleported to.

"I am afraid I know not the answer to that," Lord Bogo responded. "It seems my abilities of teleportation are somehow lessened here in Outworld."

"We may as well see what's beyond that door," Travis said. "Somebody already left it half-open."

Lord Bogo was the first to walk over towards the entryway, pushing the large door fully opening and gesturing for the others to follow him. One by one, they walked over to where the buffalo was, only to realize for themselves that where the hallway they were leaving behind lead to was a lot more capacious than they presumed it would be.

The gigantic room had worried heat circulating around it, coming from molten metal they could spot in the back. In the left and right corners of the space were a series of weapons, which they could only assume were crafted right here. And one of the walls, right in the middle, hung a large circular symbol depicting a dragon's head.

"What's the big dragon sign over there?" Nick inquired, pointing over to it.

"I've seen that symbol in some historical texts I've read," Jack answered. "I believe it said that it supposed to be a depiction of one of the Elder Gods in his purest form."

"Halt!" someone unknown to them cried out.

From another doorway in the room came a wolf with a gray coat of thick fur, blotched with white and beige. He quickly marched over to where all of them were, glaring at them with a look that told them he was in a dead serious mood. Following his exact footsteps was another wolf, whose fur was purely white from head to tail. He joined up at where the other wolf was standing, and the two of them, almost in sync with one another, took defensive fighting stances.

The one wolf informed, "This area is only to be occupied by the crafters and metalsmiths that work here. You are all trespassing and must leave immediately."

"We'll fight you off if we have to," the white-furred wolf beside him chimed in.

Nick looked at the two canids, and then over at Judy, who had now walked over and joined him on his side. "Okay, Carrots," he said to the bunny, "you take care of the one on the left and I'll handle the one on the right."

After Judy responded with a nod, both the fox and rabbit assumed fighting stances. The two wolves stared back at them, ready to face them. With that, both of them ran up to them and individually started to fight, with Nick facing the white wolf and Judy facing the one with the grayish coat of fur.

Nick glared at who he was now going to have to face, swinging his left paw over to try and deliver a jab. This was blocked, however, by the wolf guard, and responded to with a kick to the leg. The vulpine disregarded it, crouching the moment the canid went to send a punch in his direction.

Nick got back up from the stone floor and back on his paws, taking a few steps back. The white wolf followed, managing to clip the fox's shoulder. The tod, though, responded with a powerful kick made with a wide sweep of his leg. Upon receiving it, the guard let out the faintest of yelps and quickly regained a hold of himself.

The wolf ran back a couple of spaces, running back up to the fox two seconds afterwards. As best as he could, though, Nick defended himself from the jabs that came his way. However, he didn't manage to block the low kick he ended up taking.

The vulpine stumbled for the briefest of moments before getting closer to the wolf and hitting him with two powerful jabs. When who he had managed to strike went to send him a high kick, however, Nick huddled down. When the canid's leg was down after not kicking at anything, the fox bolted right back up with an arm bent and hit him with a thunderous uppercut. The force of it had the white wolf stumbling backwards, nearly hitting the floor below him.

"Toasty!" Nick remarked out loud.

"What?" Judy said loudly from the other side of the room, overhearing the fox as she continued to fight off the other wolf in front of her.

"Just a little catchphrase that slipped outta me in the heat of the moment," the tod called back to the rabbit.

"What does that even mean?" she said back.

Nick shrugged his shoulders and looked over at her. Ignoring her inquiry, he continued, "Now that I think of it, I could possibly make that a thing. I could make that something I exclaim after a brutal uppercut or something like-"

"Nick, look behind you!" Judy interrupted, her head turned over towards him and a paw pointing over to him.

Hesitantly, the fox turned around, just in time to see the wolf back up on his paws and ready to wing a punch in his direction. Nick's instincts quickly kicked, and he swooped down to avoid the blow and went to hit the canid with a kick near his chest. The wolf blocked it, stepping a couple paces back.

In the corner of his vision, Nick could see that Judy was successfully managing to take out the other guard with a series of kicks. Turning his attention back to the guard _he _was facing, he saw that the wolf was staring at him with fists made and teeth bared. The vulpine, however, wasn't scared, and came running up towards him.

As he ran forward, the expression on the wolf's muzzle immediately changed, going from that looked determined to fight to one that indicated he wasn't fully prepared. Only one of the two powerful jabs the fox sent in his direction was actually blocked. Nick then turned in a circular motion and delivered another roundhouse kick to who he was facing.

The force of it had the wolf stumbled right on his back, and he ended up bumping his head directly on the shelf of a nearby stand. On the very top of the stand, a large bowl made out of ceramic teetered where it had been sitting, and ended up falling and landing directly over the white-furred canid's head.

"Ha," he said to himself. "Now I've heard of the Cone of Shame, but never heard anything about the _Bowl _of Shame."

As he walked over, he saw that the other wolf that the rabbit was just defending herself against was on the ground as well.

"Let's get out of here, Carrots," Nick said to Judy.

The fox and rabbit quickly made their way for the door that the guards previously emerged from. Jack, Travis, and Lord Bogo followed them as they all made their way to another vacant hallway.

"I have a sense that we are closer to where we must go than we think," the buffalo of the group said, informing the others.

As they all disappeared from the large weapon crafting room, the gray wolf guard, from where currently laid called to the other one, "Gary! Get up! The boss is gonna have our tails for this." His voice sounded as if he were a bit tired from what had occurred.

The white wolf got up from where he was, the bowl still over his head. Due to it completely snuffing out his sense of vision, he had his paws out in front of him and was cluelessly tottering forward. Grunting at what had just occurred to him, the white wolf muttered to himself, "I do not like this Bowl of Shame."

"And get that damned thing off of your head!" the canid guard on the other side of the room cried back. "You look like a dullard."

"I don't think I can get it off, Larry. Where are you?"

"Damn the gods," came from the sighing, frustrated voice of the gray wolf. He slowly picked himself up and lifted his head slowly, breaking into a distressed howl.

* * *

** _Some Time Later…_ **

"I'm not liking the vibes this place is sendin' me," Nick said, shaking his head as he continued to walk up to the tall construction that stood a good distance from him.

"This _is _the place Lord Bogo believes matches the description of my vision," Jack replied. "If that is what he says, I believe we must listen to him. He _is_ a god, after all."

The vulpine continued, "Regardless, though, you gotta admit that this place gives you at least the tiniest case of the creeps. I mean, the building we're approaching looks like it would go to ruin if there was a bad enough storm, and there's probably mammals for us to arrive so they can try to kill us." He let out a deep sigh. "It's like this one sci-fi movie I was in called The Distracted Globe. It was about this huge virtual reality world with a whole bunch of-"

"What does this show you were in have to deal with these circumstances, fox?" the striped rabbit interrupted.

"Well," Nick replied, "if you would have let me finish, I would have said that this place looks like the one dark part of the movie. Also, I have a name other than just 'fox', you know. It's Nick."

"I would advice that we keep our voices down as much as possible right now," Lord Bogo said. "We may speak but not too loudly. It is more than possible that there is someone hiding to keep intruders away from this place."

Nick nodded as he and the others kept walking forward. In the corner of his eye, he thought he saw something shadowy skitter by. He turned his head in that direction, but nothing that was capable of casting a figure was present. The only thing on his side was a partially-fractured statue that depicted a gargoyle with a frightening face. The fox remembered reading somewhere that gargoyles were supposed to offer protection, but the look of the one carved in the stone looked like it would do the opposite if it were a living creature.

He quickly put concerns regarding something following them away. _Probably just my imagination, _he thought.

A few spaces from the carving of the gargoyle stood an effigy that was a bit larger. Depicted in weathered stone was the figure of a thin feline with some sort of mask shielding his face. Underneath it was a block that had a series of symbols engraved upon it. What they said was beyond Nick.

"Who is he?" the fox muttered to himself. "It's good bad I can't read whatever that says."

As Jack walked up to where the vulpine was standing, he paused a moment and started to read the symbols. "I understand what was written here," he said. "I was taught to read and write a second language at an early age. It says, 'Within this territory a cougar once stood. Shielded by the mask he wore was a disfigured face, so frightening that it scared the soul out of any mammal that gazed upon it. And there's a name down below that writing; it looks like the cougar's name was Clawbal."

Nick shuddered. "Good thing he's not around now," he remarked. "I wouldn't wanna have a run-in with that guy. I'd prefer my soul to stay in my body, if ya ask me."

They continued to walk along the path, approaching the construction Lord Bogo supposed who they needed to rescue was being held in. Just then, the fox swore he saw the same shadowiness sprint past his field of vision a second time. He turned to get a glimpse, but nothing was there. Just like the previous time.

"You okay, Nick?" Judy asked from behind him, making him turn around.

The tod replied, "Y-Yeah, I'm fine. I just thought I saw somethin', but I guess my mind's just playing tricks on me. Y'now, it's kinda-"

He was interrupted by a thick cloud of black smoke that unexpectedly puffed up before them. He jumped back after being startled by the sudden occurrence, and the others behind him looked at what bracingly appeared before them with looks of shock.

The cloud disappeared like a vapor, revealing a slender female lion dressed in a flowing blue cloak. What she was wearing, in Nick's mind, looked like she was straight out of an advertisement for an international vacation.

"Who are you to wander around these parts without invitation?" she boomed to them.

_I knew it, _Nick thought. _I knew that someone was stalking us when I was seein' those shadows._

After only receiving silence, she bellowed, "Answer my question! Who do you think you are stumbling down this part of the land?"

Nick turned away from the feline and over to the others behind him. "Guys," he said, "you go and help who you need to free. I'll take care of this."

Lord Bogo, Travis, and Judy, who had a look of concern on her muzzle, all teleported away from where they stood behind him and over to the entrance of where they needed to go.

Turning his attention back to the lioness, Nick saw that she had an angered expression written across her face. However, it quickly changed to a neutral smile.

"Alright, now who are you exactly?" the fox asked. "And just why are you snoopin' around these parts?"

"I am Maura," she snarled sternly in reply, "and I was sent by Leodore to keep sharp-tongued mammals like you away here. You have no business strolling here or anywhere near this steeple."

"Yeah, well I'm already here, so…"

The lioness grunted under her breath. "You are nothing but a fool to speak to me with such a disrespectful attitude. You are unaware of the supernatural abilities that I-"

"So let me get somethin' straight," Nick interrupted. "You're a witch?"

The look on Maura's face gave evidence that she was not going to be tested by the fox any longer. "I have been gifted with capabilities your mind cannot handle. And for years I have laid six feet under the dirt before my resurrection by-"

"So you're a _zombie _witch?" the fox remarked. "How'd they bring ya back to life, then? Did you have to wait a couple hundred years for a virgin to light a black candle? 'Cause I believe I've seen a movie on this-"

"That's enough!" Maura exclaimed at the top of her lungs. She flung her paws in an outward motion, causing the stones on both of her sides to shatter into bits.

Nick flinched and put his paws over his face, shielding himself from any potential fragments that might fly in his direction. "Okay…" he said with a now-frightened tone. "That just happened."

"Your imbecility has left me no other choice but to ensure your lesson is learned," Maura said. "And I know what to do."

The female lion slowly stepped forward, making a motion with her paws as she crept closer towards Nick. Appearing in her left paw was the bloom of a lavender-colored flower. "Does this have any significance to you?" she asked.

Utter shock overcame the vulpine as he looked at the flower she was holding. _An aster flower, _he thought. _Those were my mother's favorite. How does-_

"How do I know that?" Maura muttered, putting on a grin.

"D-Did you just… hear my thoughts?" the fox said, stunned. "H-How?"

"Did I not mention to you that I possess abilities you cannot understand? I can see into the mind of anyone, and so far I can see that you're tormented by some very oppressing moments that have occurred."

Nick didn't want to hear about it. Taking a fighting position, he said to the lioness, "I'll take you down if I must."

Maura chuckled under her breath. "Is that so? If that is what your wish to do, then I must say that you will be making a terrible mistake."

The vulpine ignored her words. Grunting under his breath, he went to send a kick to the sorceress, but she blocked it before it could reach her. She made the motion of swatting something away from her with a paw, and as she did so Nick found himself being flung to the ground a few inches to the right.

He quickly got up and brushed off the dust he got on him. He tried to get a running start, but Maura suddenly vanished in a smoky cloud before he could reach her. She reappeared unknowingly behind him and ended up nearly knocking him down to the ground again.

She went to deliver a high kick to him, but he got down to avoid it in time. Just as he went to deliver an uppercut, she swiftly ducked away. She teleported herself away from Nick, and he went over to where she currently stood, anticipating him to come forward. As he sprinted up towards her, she stiffly held out both paws and boomed some sort of phrase. Right then and there, the tod found himself being blinded by darkness.

The blackness quickly faded, being replaced with new scenery. He wasn't anywhere near the steeple anymore. In fact, where he was seemed quite familiar to him. There was green grass surrounding him, and to his left were some garden boxes constructed from some old wood.

_Wait, _Nick thought. _Is this my old backyard from when I was a kit?_

He turned his head to the side to see his father, seated at a small table with a newspaper in one paw and a wooden pencil in the other. Nick remembered him always doing the crossword puzzle inside the paper they got on occasion; he always said that it was to keep his brain sharp, unlike some other folks in his family.

Turning back to where the garden ones remained, he saw an image appearing before him. On bent knees was his mother in gloves and a sunhat, digging a small hole into the soil. Following that was a kit who looked no older than the age of six running up to her. It was him, and this was all a memory of his replaying before him. Like all of this was on some life-like film projector.

"You miss her dearly, don't you?" the voice of that lioness echoed around him.

"What's the meaning of this?" Nick muttered, looking around for where Maura was. She wasn't there despite him being able to hear her.

"This is your memory, and I am merely showing you a manifestation of it. You wish you could see your mother again, happy and healthy like she was here. I sense that you still carry the load of the day you learned the illness that plagued worsened."

The scenery of his old backyard faded, being replaced with somewhere entirely different. Where he now stood was another familiar location: a filmset. And one that was quite recognizable, to be exact.

Nick saw himself walking over to a green screen, wearing a headset, a gray flight jacket covering up an orange jumpsuit, and tanker boots. To the right was another actor, a wolf who had a white line of his fur cut in a mohawk style. The otter with a clapperboard came over to where they were standing, and they soon started to recite their lines. But when it came time for Nick to recite his next one, he paused midway and suddenly walked off of the set. The wolf actor asked if he was doing okay, and the director of the film in progress pondered why he stormed off in the middle of that take.

Nick remembered this moment, and he watched it all unfolding in front of him once again. Prior to that moment, he had gotten negative news about his mother's condition. Her condition was getting worse despite the efforts from the doctors.

The memory playing in front suddenly shifted, the views changing to blank white room. The hospital room Nick was in when his mother was reaching her final moments of life. The vividness of what he was observing made it look as if he were reliving that sad point in life all over again. The beeping of the monitor next to the bed his mother rested in sent a shiver down his spine. He remembered, in that moment, giving his beloved mother one last hug, which started to weaken as she told him she loved him. As her breath came to a halt, that was when his tears could no longer be contained.

"No!" Nick exclaimed as he watched the moment unfold once again.

Within a flash, the memory of he lifeless hospital room dissipated, and he found himself back outside the steeple again, the damned lioness staring back at him.

"Life is a cruel, cruel creature," Maura said. "It can cast troubling things in our direction that make us question why it happened to us. _I _am no anomaly to this standard. But that is in the past, and now I am in a new time where I can alter the course of life for an entire realm." She broke out into laughter and pointed towards the fox, making him shudder. "_You _and all of your other friends will die, and the dawn of a new era will commence when Outworld takes over."

"No!" Nick exclaimed, determined once again to take down this member of Leodore's team of mammals. "I can't allow that to happen!"

"Enjoy your time while you have it," the lioness beckoned with a tightened fist. "Your hourglasses will soon be running out. I'll be back."

With that, Maura lifted her paws in an upward motion. As she did this, a vigorous gust of wind suddenly blew in the vulpine's direction. The force of it was so strong that it ended up knocking him down. In a cloud smoke the lioness had vanished, leaving Nick feeling perturbed but determined to fight off the evil forces that were threatening the existence of the world as he knew it.

_I pray that who the heck they're lookin' for in that steeple is in there, _the fox thought. _Hopefully one more mammal on our side gives us a better chance at stopping this whole "threat to the world" thing. I better join the others and see what's happening._

* * *

Much to Jack's surprise, the spot where Skye had been imprisoned matched the details of his vision completely. For the briefest of moments, he had ensure that what he was seeing was in the waking life and that he hadn't been part of an extremely large vision he was having.

The sound of someone struggling made his ears perk up, and he gestured for the others to follow him as walked over to where who he had been searching for was. The arctic vixen was inside of the circular lockup, and it truly was suspended over a small sea of spikes that would easily puncture anything that fell upon them.

"We're here to get you out of this awful place!" Jack cried.

The vulpine looked up with an expression of great concern. Shaking her head, she said, "It's a trap! The guards will kill you if they get a hold of you!"

Just then, an unusual snarling sound arose from the jackrabbit's left. He quickly turned around just as a large figure jumped out of the darkness and made itself present. What he saw was unlike anything that the buck had ever seen—or probably would ever see, for that matter—in his life.

The figure's body was large and broad, with grayish-green coloration and bony scales upon him. It had a long, rounded snout, stocky webbed feet with claws upon them, and a long, powerful-looking tail.

A fear-inducing grunt came from the right, and Jack turned away from what he was seeing and to where he had heard the noise.

"Watch out!" Skye shouted. "They'll get you!"

Emerging from that corner was a creature just like the one his left. As it flickered its tail, he saw that it had some sort of spiked metal mace attached to the end of it.

"Lord Bogo?" the striped buck asked, turning over to the cape buffalo that was also now ready to defend himself. "What are these things?"

"They are reptilian," Lord Bogo replied. "Their kind is only existent here and not in any other realm."

The bovine produced an energetic bolt, ready to cast at the guards that were now approaching him, Jack, and Travis.

"Whatever they are," Jack said, "we must fight them off."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the cliffhanger I decided to end this chapter with. Hope you enjoyed it nonetheless, though. I'll admit that writing parts of it was a little bit tough, especially the fight scene that took place in the weapon-crafting room.
> 
> Anyone who's played the Mortal Kombat games might've been able to spot the little "Toasty!" reference I threw in that part. Another reference made to the games was when they were reading the plaque of the statue of Clawbal, who is the Zootopia-fied (if that's even a word) version of a masked fighter named Kabal.
> 
> There's also a few more references hidden in here as well. If anybody managed to catch the little nods made to Up, Ready Player One, and Star Fox... excellent... *muttered in the deep, ominous voice of the Mortal Kombat announcer*
> 
> There's another one that I didn't mention, but that I will leave to be deciphered.
> 
> Also, I know that reptiles don't exactly exist in the Zootopia universe, but because our characters are in Outworld, an entirely different realm, I decided to throw them in there near the end. Ergo, the guards keeping watch over where Skye was found are crocodiles.


	14. The Talisman

"Get her out of there, Lord Bogo!" Jack cried. "I'll fend these guys off."

The leporine went to send a kick towards the reptilian guard. The protector of the area, however, twirled around in a circle, swiping at him with his powerful tail and knocking him forcefully to the ground.

As both Jack, Judy, and Travis continued to fight off the guards that occupied where they were, Lord Bogo ran up to where Skye had been locked. As they continued to dodge the keepers attacks, the buffalo approached the lockup and started to conduct the energy within him.

A bolt shot out from his grasp, hitting one the steel bars of what the vixen was trapped inside, curving out and encompassing the ones adjacent to it in a chain reaction. The arctic vulpine was in absolute shock at what was going on, but her shock transformed into relief when the bars that kept her from escaping ended up being unexplainably busted off.

"Come on!" the bovine compelled, gesturing for her to get out from where she was.

Her head remaining slightly crouched down to avoid bumping her head, she approached the very edge of her lockup. As it moved around with her moving weight, her eyes ended up darting down to the deadly spikes below her. She looked away from the danger, though, and left from where she stood. She landed a few inches away from where the buffalo that aided in her rescue was, thankful that she didn't end up falling to her demise.

"Thank you," she said with a shallow sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"No need for gratitude," Lord Bogo replied. "We have to get you out of here."

A bolt of energy, larger than the others that had been casted by him before, took shape in the bovine's grasp. As the buffalo grunted loudly, the conjured energy blasted from in between his hooves, spreading across the walls like the electricity created by an oscillator. The blast managed to directly strike the guards that Jack and Travis had been fighting off, and caused two others that were to serve as reinforcement to retreat back to where they were starting to emerge.

"Guys!" someone cried.

They all turned their heads to see Nick, who was running up to where all of the commotion was occurring.

"Run!" Lord Bogo bellowed to the fox. "We must go!"

The vulpine gulped and quickly turned his back, darting back where he had just come from. The others swiftly followed his steps as they ran threw an area of the steeple that was a little more narrow and lacking in light.

"The absconder stays here," a raspy voice chattered. The voice coming from a lanky dingo that awaited them at the very bottom of the steps they were descending. "By order of Leodore-"

"It doesn't matter what Leodore decrees!" Jack interrupted with a booming tone of voice. "If you want her, you have to deal with me first!"

The striped rabbit pushed his way passed the others, quickly skittering down some of the steps before leaping from the final two. Once he found himself standing in the middle of the more spacious area of the construction, he approached the canine with the sandy-colored coat of fur. But before he could do so much as even prepare to throw a jab, the dingo glared at him before performing a motion with his paws and snarling something under his breath.

Whatever he had said caused Jack's arm to stay completely frozen in the position it was in, making him unable to lower it or unclench his fist. The buck found himself in shock as the dingo then did another motion that caused him to life both of his arms up in the air. He tried to fight off whatever was happening to him, but his efforts were of no use. This canid was manipulating his movements through some supernatural force.

The next thing he knew, the striped lagomorph found himself being hoisted up from the floor, right before being unexpectedly thrown to the other side of the room.

"Jack!" Lord Bogo cried, proceeding to approach who had done that to the buck.

The dingo cackled as he looked over at the buffalo. "Are you looking to have the same thing happen to you?" he asked.

The bovine proceeded to fight off the canid with ease, and the others ran over to where Jack ended up. As they approached him, they saw that the jackrabbit was clutching onto his leg like he was in pain.

As Skye got on her knees and down to his level, she inquired, "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

Nodding his head, Jack gazed back at the vixen and said, "A lot of pain, but I'll manage. I am just glad you have escaped."

"He needs a medic, but there's no possibility of finding one around these parts," Judy chimed in. "It's very well possible something got pulled in his leg when he was thrown back, depending on how he landed."

"I know of where you may find assistance," an unknown mammal whispered, coming from the right.

The voice caused them all to jump and look in that direction. A wombat emerged from a blackened corner of the space, nearly invisible to the naked eye, and probably for good reason. After all, if he had any connection with Leodore's enforcements—and the possibility of that was very large—he would more than likely receive death for helping others from another realm.

"I might be defying my duties by saying this, but there's a practitioner of healing about seven leagues from here," the marsupial whispered informatively. "She healed a cousin of mine once, and it's possible she could be of assistance. You'll find her in a wooden lodging outside a small village."

"Thank you," Judy said to the wombat. She could tell from his reassuring tone of voice that he was telling the truth, and that he certainly was not the villainous member of Leodore's crew that he was forced to be.

Skye got herself up from her crouched position and proceed to pick him up from the ground to carry him. The jackrabbit let out a noise that told her that his leg was starting to hurt more than it did previously.

She turned her to the side, noticing that the cape buffalo was delivering a roundhouse kick to the dingo, powerful enough to send him stumbling backwards, unable to fight off anymore.

"We have to go, Lord Bogo!" Nick called out to the bovine. "Seven leagues from here! Can you try to get us close enough this time?"

Lord Bogo nodded and ran out of the steeple, the others following his lead. As they ran alongside him, Skye continued to carry Jack.

"Let's hope we can get him to this healer safely," the vixen said with concern for the rabbit.

The buffalo in front waved both hooves around him, and with that they found themselves being teleported from this awful place.

* * *

As he let out a gasp for air, the muffled mumbling of several voices was the first thing Jack's ears registered as he fluttered his eyes open. Regaining his senses, he immediately noticed that he appeared to be laying down on something. He didn't know where he was, either; the only thing he _did _know was what had happened to him while he was rescuing that arctic vixen.

_Wait, where's Skye?_ he thought.

The lagomorph quickly peaked his head up, noticing that she was in this unknown location alongside the others. He looked around at his surroundings, noticing that where he was had been constructed primarily out of wood. Several plants in little ceramic pots rested on some nearby counters, as well as an assortment of colored glass bottles with transparent fluids inside of them.

"Thank the gods," Skye breathed.

"That lady who healed your leg is truly some miracle worker," Nick chimed in. "Haven't the slightest idea what she was doin', but it seemed to work out just fine."

"Something seems to be troubling your thoughts, Jack," Lord Bogo said. "What is wrong?"

"It was…" Jack replied with hesitation to the buffalo. "I believe I had another vision right before I awakened. I don't understand the reason I keep having them, though."

"What did you see?" the bovine asked.

The buck did his best to recollect what details he could. "I saw my brother this time," he said, "and he was saying things to me that didn't make sense to me."

"What kind of things?"

"He said to find the cheetah and travel to the talisman by boat. And then he said that that was the key in setting his soul free from Leodore." Jack sagged his head. "But I don't understand the definition of his message, or why these visions are unexplainably coming to me."

Lord Bogo replied, "Visions and revelations are delivered solely by apparitions, so it is quite possible your brother is sending them to you so you can defeat who killed him."

The striped leporine shook his head. "But if I can't understand what he meant, I feel as if I am letting him down."

"I believe I have partial understanding of what he is talking about," a figure said, coming from behind the others.

A middle-aged tanuki walked in front of them and over to where Jack was still sitting.

"Who are you?" Jack inquired to her.

The raccoon dog pointed a paw to herself and replied, "My name is Ichika, and I am the one who healed your leg. Are you feeling any better?"

The buck moved his leg around, realizing that all of the pain was gone. With a faint smile, he nodded. "It's better. The pain seems to have vanished. Thank you very much."

"You have the plants and their healing properties to thank for that," Ichika remarked in reply. "It is because of the gifts of nature, and my knowledge of their use, that you received healing. My husband used to say that I was obsessed with obtaining knowledge of plants." She let out a heavy sigh. "Rest his soul. It's just me and the plants in this house of mine now."

"I'm sorry," Jack replied sympathetically.

Ichika shook her head. "Oh, he didn't die. I only say that because I wish him the best with the way of life he chose. We divorced quite some time ago. After the mammal says he'll love me unconditionally, he takes a trip into a different part of the land and ends up getting lead to adultery by someone with a more exquisite complexion. To be honest, I could care less about where that bastard is and what he does now." She let out another deep sigh. "But that's enough about my life's woes. As I said before, I believe I can help decipher what you mentioned before. You were saying something before about needing to find a cheetah, right?"

"I did," the jackrabbit said with a nod of his head. "Then there was something else about traveling by boat."

The tanuki replied, "Then I know the exact mammal that you need to find. His name is Benjamin Clawhauser. If he's not out on his boat, you'll probably be able to find him fishing along the waters at the edge of the village. Tell him that Ichika sent you to him and I am certain he will help you with whatever it is that you need."

* * *

With the exception of the occasional rippling made by the fish that called it their home, the silvery-blue water remained mostly flat. The air consisted of the pungent fragrance of some blossoms, sprouting a good distance away from the water.

Gripping tightly onto the rod he had in his paws, the cheetah, pudgy in appearance compared to others in his kind, continued to anticipate the moment a fish would fall for the bait he had on his hook. Other than him catching two little pinfish that he had decided to put back in the water, not much action was occurring. Not compared to the other times he came to this lake and reeled in much larger catches, or when he took his boat to a deeper portion of water to fish.

A pair of voices were talking back and forth to his left, and he looked over to see two beavers, father and son, fishing some distance away from where he had casted out. Both of them were reeling in like they each had something on their hooks, only to realize they had accidentally got their hooks caught together.

The cheetah laughed and went back to focusing on his own rod, just in time to feel something tugging at the bait he had in the water. Once that happened, the portly feline started to quickly reel what he had on the line up to shore. _Finally, _he thought. _A larger fish! _

Just as he continued to reel it in, however, he felt he thought he had caught release it self from the hook, presumably traveling to where it was in the water before. The cheetah sighed once again at the not-so-good luck he was having on this particular day. But there was no point in getting upset about those circumstances, though; it was impossible for one to control that sort of thing.

Perhaps it just wasn't a good time for fishing, and that he should try again at a different time…

Just as he turned around to head back towards home, he caught sight of five figures walking up towards where he was currently standing. A fox, a gray doe, a striped jackrabbit, an arctic vixen, a black ferret, and a tall cape buffalo were now strolling up to where he had been fishing before.

The cheetah looked back at them with a scant amount of confusion; he never recalled seeing these particular mammals around these parts. He knew just about everybody in the village that he called home, so the five were like complete strangers to him.

"Hello," he greeted out of sheer politeness. "Can I help you?"

The cape buffalo amongst the group of mammals nodded his head and took two steps forward. "Yes," he said. "We are looking for a cheetah by the name of Benjamin Clawhauser."

"That's me," the spotted feline replied. Shifting the subject slightly, he added, "I don't recall ever seeing you around this village. Are you sojourners?"

The bovine answered, "We are not from here, but we traveled here because there is a very significant matter that needs resolving. That is why we needed to find you."

The cheetah looked back at him with a bit of confusion. "Uhhh…"

The striped buck approached the corpulent feline and looked up at him, remembering what he was told to tell him. "Ichika sent us here?" he said, his words coming out more like a question rather than a statement.

"You folks met Ichika?" Benjamin asked in reply.

The jackrabbit nodded. "We have. She managed to completely heal an injury I ended up taking to my leg. She told us to look for you, and that you could potentially help us with something."

"How may I be of assistance?" the cheetah inquired.

"Ichika told us that you could help us get to where we need to venture to by boat. Is that true?"

"Oh, yes! I haven't taken by boat out in the water quite some time now. I would be happy to assist you folks in helping you reach your destination."

"Yeah, but wait a minute," the ferret of the group interrupted, holing up a paw. "How do we know that this cheetah doesn't have connections with that Leodore guy?" He looked over at the gray doe a few spaces away from him. "Hopps, you have to remember that Woolter was friendly to us in the beginning before giving us the run-around. We gotta watch before we just go placin' faith in some stranger."

Clawhauser let out a small laugh upon overhearing the mustelid's worries. "I see why you have concerns," he said to the ferret understandingly. "If I were in your position, I would probably be thinking the same thoughts. I will reassure you all, though, that I don't—and will _never_—have any ties to Leodore. In fact, this entire village I live consists of humble mammals that are actually _against _his sovereignty."

The red fox looked over at the cape buffalo and asked, "What do you think, Lord Bogo? Is he telling the truth?"

Lord Bogo nodded and responded, "I can sense that this mammal has a kind heart, and is not one to lie or deceive others."

"That is correct," Benjamin said to the bovine. "Sometimes I feel as if I and the few that live in this village are the only kind ones in this entire world."

"And that statement is probably not far from the truth," the buffalo replied. "If you can help us reach our next point of disembarkation, I will be sure to request that the Elder Gods grant you and the citizens of this village better life in Earthrealm."

The stout feline looked at him, evidently addled by what he heard. "I-I'm sorry, what do you say?"

"It's a long and crazy story," the fox called out from where he stood.

"That it is," Lord Bogo added. "But I will spare you a good majority of the minor details." He bowed his head. "To make a more formal introduction, my name is Lord Bogo. And the mammals standing alongside me have come together with the goal of defeating Leodore."

"But what was it you were saying about Elder Gods and granting me a better life?" Benjamin questioned.

The russet vulpine of the group chimed in, "Believe it or not, who you're talkin' to is actually a god."

The cape buffalo looked over at the tod and then back at the cheetah. "I am," he said. "And as I just said, Leodore is the reason that I casted myself here."

Clawhauser changed the subject back to where it had previously been. "So where is it that you all needed to travel to?"

Jack looked over at Lord Bogo. "Are you sure it's a good idea to tell him? Can he be trusted?"

The bovine reassuringly turned his head to him and nodded his head.

The striped leporine looked over at the rotund cheetah and said, "I had this… vision, and it told me not just to find you but to travel to where a talisman is located. Would you, by any chance, have any idea as to where one could find something of that sort?"

Benjamin remained silent for a moment before answering his question. "As a matter of fact, I believe I do. I'm not exactly sure, but this vision you say you had might have been trying to tell you about the Bouquetin's Talisman."

"What is that?" Jack inquired in reply.

The feline informed, "Supposedly, from the lore I've heard surrounding it, it's an artifact that mysteriously appeared in the land. Not much is really known about how it originated—everyone believes it was brought up from the netherworld—but what _is_ known is that a red panda named Qiong was the first to discover it. But after he placed it around his neck, his mind had become unsound, like he was possessed by a demon. After he ended up being freed by the trance it placed him under, it was placed inside the deserted synagogue with hopes it wouldn't be touched again." He let out a deep sigh. "I'm a bit hesitant about taking you to there, though. Especially after what happened in recent months…"

"What happened?"

"There was a member of the village named Emmitt Otterton, and he liked to call himself an explorer. He went in search for the talisman after hearing word about it…" Benjamin paused a moment and sagged his head. "But that was weeks ago. There hasn't been any sign of him since the day he left. It's been hard for his wife and two pups for him to be missing this long, but they refuse to give up hope. But if you wish to search for the artifact too, I will help you get there. If you'll follow me I will lead you to the boat."

* * *

"The rain just kept pouring down on me, and the lightning was getting really close to where I was at. But i just kept ignoring it, 'cause right then I felt something big pulling on my reel. So the moment I realized that I hooked it, I reeled that thing up to the boat, and _then_…"

As the cheetah, who he quickly realized was extremely talkative, continued another fishing story of his, Nick drowned out the words and gazed at the open water. _Who knew this mammal was such a chatterbox? _

"You sure have a lot of fishing stories," the tod said.

The cheetah stopped in the midst of his tale. "Mhmm," he replied. "Telling stories of all kinds is a tradition carried by most of the folks in the village. And I am no exclusion to that."

Since they had all gotten on the water, their embarkment went quite smoothly. The boat was much large than Nick anticipated it would be. He had first thought that it was just going to be some small outrigger canoe, and that multiple vessels of similar design would be required for all of them to reach their destination. But, much to his surprise, Clawhauser's watercraft was capable of accommodating all of them. Pulled by both wind—which there currently was a lack of—and powerful rowing from the spotted feline, it glided steadily along the watery passageway. Its appearance reminded him of the traveling boats from ancient civilizations he remembered having to learn about in school once.

To the right some spaces away from the fox was Jack, who appeared to be absorbed in some trail of thought. Standing up and looking onto the horizon a few inches away from the buck was Skye.

Looking over at him, the vixen said to the striped lagomorph, "There is something about the water that is just so fascinating."

Jack's eyes coursed over to where she stood, and he nodded his head. "That is true," he replied. "I guess you could say that the water is where an entirely different world lies. That's what my brother used to say about it, at least."

"You know," Skye continued, "when I was just a little kit, the water used to frighten me. Looking back at the memory of that now, I have no idea why. I just was. But how can one fear something that is actually quite tranquil in nature?"

"I have not a clue why fears of certain things plague some mammals," Jack responded. "My personal belief has always been that we occasionally possess fears so we learn to face and overcome them, to become more courageous than we were before."

The vixen looked over at the jackrabbit once again. "I know I have already told you this before we set sail, but I want to thank you for saving me before. How are you feeling, by the way?"

"What do you mean?"

"Your leg. How does it feel since the healer helped you?"

Jack moved the leg that had been injured before. "It feels perfectly fine. It was as if nothing ever happened to it." He smiled back at Skye before returning his gaze back to the water. "There is just something that I wish I had more of an understanding of."

"And what is that, rabbit?" the arctic vulpine inquired.

The buck answered, "That vision I had of my brother told us to find this… talisman. But, at the moment, I don't know what finding this object will do for us when we are trying to face the threat of Leodore right now."

"The answers to your questions are probably soon to come," Skye replied. "I am quite sure of that. It is quite possible that your brother came to you with this vision because we are to encounter someone along the way that will help us. Sometimes things aren't clearly stated to us, but grant us an answer when it is due."

"Yes. Perhaps that is true…"

"We are close to our destination, guys!" called the cheerful voice of the cheetah, who had been rowing and guiding them this entire time.

Approaching them dead ahead was some sandy grounds where the water started to get more shallow than it was before. Benjamin lead them near enough so they could exit the boat safely, and all of the got out and walked onto the sand.

For a brief moment, Nick started to get confused. "Hold on a sec," he said, looking over at the feline that brought them here. "Aren't we supposed to go to some synagogue? There's nothin' of the sort here."

"This _was _the route Otterton said he was going to take before he vanished," Clawhauser replied, "so I believe we are on the right track."

"It's out there, in the distance," Nick heard Judy stating to his right. She was pointing at something that had caught her eye. "Do you see it?"

"See what?" the fox muttered in reply.

"That structure out there," Judy said. "That's probably the synagogue that the talisman was left in."

What the gray bunny was telling about was further away from where they stood, yet perceptible. From what he could see, the building was large in terms of scale, with tiered roofs on top of it.

"Oh, wow," Benjamin chimed in. "That sure is a good walking distance away from 'ere. Hope I can withstand that long of a trek. I'm not exactly in the best of shape."

That was when Lord Bogo started to step forward. "There is no need to concern yourselves the length of a trek," he said. "That is where my powers are able to be of assistance."

"Yeah," Nick added, "bein' a god and all, he can transport right to where we need to go."

"Are you serious?" Benjamin asked the fox, unsure whether what he was saying was the truth or not.

"Come stand beside me, everyone," Lord Bogo said to the others.

They listened to what the buffalo told them and joined him where he stood. From there, the bovine held one hoof up in the air, and they all felt the sand beneath them totally disappear.

* * *

All of a sudden, they all found themselves standing only a short numbers of years away from the synagogue that they needed to go to. After just being teleported to this location alongside the others, Benjamin was evidently in a state of perplexity. He looked around at his surroundings, still in surprise at how he had managed to go from the shoreline straight to the synagogue in the matter of a few seconds.

"I can't believe it," the cheetah muttered out loud to himself. "I can't believe I just traveled without having to lift a paw."

Nick couldn't help but chuckle at that remark. "I remember not too long ago being in that exact same state of disbelief," he said.

Clawhauser let out a small squeal. "This has got to be one of the adventurous days I've had in a long time!" he remarked. "Never would I have ever thought I would be standing in the presence of a god in the flesh."

Lord Bogo looked over the feline, and then over at Jack. "Is this the exact location you were instructed to go to in that vision?" he asked him.

The jackrabbit shrugged his shoulders with uncertainty. "I don't know, Lord Bogo," he said. "I didn't see anything except my brother when I was having it."

Nick chimed in, "Guess that leaves us with only one option: We start lookin' around for any sign of this talisman we're supposed to get our paws on."

The fox got a better look at synagogue, noticing more of the details in its architecture now that he was seeing it more up-close. He had read of what places of worship were like, and even saw photographs of them taken from various corners of the world in travel magazines before. But this didn't have any similarities to those religious buildings whatsoever. Unlike the ones he knew of that had resplendent vestibules, this synagogue's entrance looked like it consisted of a low annex. And rather than possessing a hemispherical apse, it looked like this place featured nothing more than a single, large hall. Wood-carved corbels jutted from the tiered roofs above, supplying them with much-needed support.

Nick hesitantly stepped forward, and Jack in front of him and walked ahead. The others followed as they strolled up to the entrance of the synagogue's one and only hall. Upon stepping inside, they were met with a room that was in a very dilapidated state.

With the exception of some old pew-looking benches and a podium where a minister of religion once spoke, the building looked completely bare. On the wall above the podium was oil painting that displayed some artist's representation of what the afterlife looked like. After looking at that painting for an additional moment, they realized that small vertical cuts were visible near the very bottom of it, as if someone had previously defaced it.

"Wait," Judy said to the others behind her, taking a few steps closer. "Those are claw marks in that canvas."

Nick started to ask, "Who would just approach a painting like that and just scratch near the bottom of it? That don't make-"

A snarl, hoarse and harsh in sound, arose from where the podium was located, causing everyone to be taken aback for a brief moment. There wasn't anyone else in the building except for them, so what could've produced such a startling sound?

Something long and slim emerged from behind the wooden rostrum, scurrying to the left corner of space. As soon as they unfroze from their surprised state, they went to walk up to whatever had just skittered over to the edge of the hall. But they didn't even manage to take two steps forward before whatever was there ended up skittering away to the opposite side of the room. The sound of the figure's webbed paws pattering made them all turn their heads in the direction it was going in.

Judy quickly reached for the flashlight she still had on her uniform's belt, turning it on and shining it where the figure had darted to. The cylindrical glow the light dispersed shined directly upon an otter, who wore a tattered green chiton and was crouched down on all fours. Upon getting the flashlight shone in its face, it let out a hiss and put a paw over his eyes.

Once it got on its legs and darted off again, the gray rabbit continued to point her flashlight in the direction the otter was going. The brown-furred mustelid now had its back turned to the wall, standing next to a little plinth that had an aged bo staff resting across the top of it.

As the otter, clearly in some sort of horrible trance, turned to the side, Benjamin recognized who was here.

"Oh my…" the cheetah muttered quietly to himself, placing a large paw over his mouth in bewilderment. "That's Emmitt."

"That's the otter you said went missing several months ago?" Jack whispered to the feline. "The one you said went looking for this talisman?"

Benjamin nodded his head to the striped rabbit with confirmation. "That's him." Looking back over at the mustelid they had encountered, the feline remarked, "Emmitt!"

His voice captured the otter's full attention, causing to become suddenly motionless. He glared over at the cheetah and the others, letting out a shrill, bellicose hiss at them.

Clawhauser was confused at why Emmitt, a good-natured soul who was nice to everyone, was hissing at them in such an antagonistic fashion. It was almost as if he wasn't the same mammal, like some evil fiend was occupying his body and making him behave in such a way.

"Emmitt, don't you recognize me?" Clawhauser said feebly to the otter. "It's me, Benjamin."

The cheetah's words had no effect. Emmitt simply snarled under his breath, ducking his head downward.

"Look," Jack said to Benjamin, pointing towards the otter. "Do you not see what is hanging around is neck?"

Clawhauser, upon realizing what the buck was pertaining to, became surprised once again. "The Bouqetin's Talisman…" he muttered before his mouth hung wide open.

Around Emmit's neck was an ornamental-looking object that was suspended by a gold chain. The length of its chain had it drooping down the otter's body, with the talisman resting near the very bottom of his green tunic.

"If that story about what that talisman does to others is true," Jack said, "then that is why he is acting so aggressive towards us. Its controlling his actions."

"How do we get it off of him, then?" Clawhauser asked the striped rabbit.

"Doing that is going to be easier said than done, I presume," the buck replied.

Benjamin took a step forward to where the otter currently stood. "It's okay, Emmitt," he said to him, his voice similar to kind one would use to calm a crying infant. "I know you mean no harm. It's that talisman around your neck that's making you-"

"Don't!" Jack exclaimed in quietest possible voice.

Just as the cheetah was extending a paw outward to try and get a hold of the talisman, Emmitt snarled nastily. Quickly getting as close as he could to the feline, he lunged at him and kicked at him with both legs before hitting the ground.

The suddenness of it had Clawhauser letting out a yelp before stepping back out of defense. _The rabbit is right, _he thought. _What should be a simple task will be a little more complicated than it should be._

Getting himself up from the rickety floor below him, held his sharply-clawed paws out in front of him. Turning around, he quickly swiped the staff that was resting on the stand near him. Gripping tightly onto the long, wooden rod, he twirled it in a circle before benignantly pointing it out towards the feline and rabbit.

Jack looked over at the snarling otter, proceeding to run up towards him. But before anything could even occur, the brown mustelid held the staff out longways to block any oncoming strikes. Tossing it down to the ground like a toddler throwing a toy, he closely approached the striped lagomorph and kicked a webbed foot towards his chest. The rabbit was quick to block this, though.

However, when Jack let it his guard down for a brief second, he was immediately met with a much more forceful kick, followed by two swift jabs and an uppercut that managed to knock him down. He grunted upon landing on his back, quickly picking himself up. After just getting the bad injury he had gotten fixed, he surely didn't want to hurt himself that badly again.

As who had knocked him to the ground snarled at him and got closer to him, Jack raised a leg (the one that hadn't been injured prior to this encounter) to deliver a kick, only to have it blocked. The otter soon enough responded with a flurry of fiercely-thrown jabs that made the leporine step back in retreat.

"Remember!" he heard Skye cry out from the other side of the room. As he turned his head in her direction, she added, "Channel the energy!"

"Right," Jack muttered to himself.

Just as he did the first time the vixen suggested to use this before they traveled to Outworld, he cupped his paws and an orange ball of light formed. As he saw the mustelid running up his way, he shot the ball from out of his grasp, and it hit who was approaching him directly.

The otter found himself getting flung back towards a wall behind him, and the talisman ended up flying off of his neck and landing some space away from him.

"Don't hurt him!" Jack heard Clawhauser say to him.

The striped bunny turned to the concern cheetah. "He is fine," he said to him. "That talisman is now off of him. He won't be under the effects of it any longer."

Walking in front of the jackrabbit, Benjamin slowly approached Emmitt Otterton, who uttered a small groan as he looked around at his surroundings.

"W-What happened?" the otter muttered. He looked at all of the other mammals that were occupying the synagogue alongside Clawhauser. "And who are all of these mammals?"

"Emmitt!" the cheetah said delightedly. "Oh, I'm so glad you're all right."

Emmitt looked over at Benjamin with confusion. "What do you mean?"

The spotted feline replied, "Are you aware of how long you have been gone?"

"Well, just yesterday I sailed out to this location, so not even that long."

Clawhauser sighed. "You're wrong," he said. After a long pause, he informed, "You've been gone, actually, for quite some time. Your family has been extremely concerned about you, and some of us were worried if you were still alive or not."

The mustelid shook his head in disbelief. "No, that can't be true. Tell me you're lying."

"As much as I wish it wasn't the truth, I'm afraid it is."

"And I really have been gone longer than I thought I've been?"

"Yes, you have."

Emmitt sagged his head. "The children must be worried sick about what happened to their father. But I couldn't answer that question for them; _I_ don't even know what really happened myself. The last thing I remember was walking into here in search of that talisman. It had been laying astray on the ground, and it was almost like it was trying to _attract _me towards it so I could try it on. I found myself walking over to it and putting it on me, and the next thing I knew… everything just started to go… _bleak_. I have not the slightest idea why, though."

"What do you mean by things going bleak?"

"Trying to describe it is a little bit difficult. All I can remember was my vision becoming this big blur not even a few seconds I put the talisman on. It almost felt like I was going blind in that moment. Then this… this _snarling _escaped me, and it frightened me greatly so I put a paw over my mouth to cover it. And then after that…" Emmitt sighed. "I-I don't remember anything that happened after that."

"The snarling you're talking about was a result of the effects of the talisman, Emmitt. That thing you had hanging around your neck was making you act all hostile towards us. Do you remember that?"

Looking back at him in a shocked fashion, the otter shook his head. "N-No," he blurted in reply. "I remember no such thing! Did I try to harm you? But I wouldn't so much as hurt a fly. If I truly did that, then the stories about the talisman I heard of are true." He placed a paw over his eyes. "I feel so terrible."

"Don't feel that way," Clawhauser replied. "What you did was not of your own doing. It was the talisman's fault."

"Yes," Emmitt said, "but _I _was the one who-"

"It's okay," the cheetah interrupted, a paw held in front of him. "It's over now, and it will be buried in the past."

The otter sighed and responded with a nod. "All right," he muttered under his breath. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Who are all of these other mammals that are accompanying you, by the way? They do not appear to be from the village."

Clawhauser replied, "They aren't from here, but they all share the same goal of bringing an end to Leodore's reign."

The buck standing in front of the cheetah took a step forward and bowed his head. "Allow me to introduce myself," he said to the otter. "My name is Jack"—he pointed over to the others that stood on the opposite side of the hall—"and over there are some allies from Earthrealm."

From where they all stood, Nick, Judy, and Travis all waved to Emmitt. Skye simply greeted him with a nod of her head, and Lord Bogo got down on one knee and bowed towards him.

"Pleasure to meet you all," Emmitt said to the others in the room. "And I must apologize again if I have given you all such fright."

"You see," Jack continued to the otter, "my brother—who lost his life too young because of Leodore—sent me this vision, telling me to come find the talisman. So we ended up meeting Benjamin and he gladly-"

The buck's words were brought to a halt upon his eyes catching sight of some other figure—an apparition of some sort—in the left corner of his vision. He paused and looked over where he thought he was seeing something. Standing there was the almost-pellucid figure of his brother.

"Destroy it," Jack heard his brother's apparition beckon.

Jack blinked his eyes, and the figure he saw was gone. He looked over at the cape buffalo in the room. "Lord Bogo?" he said.

The bovine slowly made his way over to where he was standing. "Yes, Jack?" he inquired.

The jackrabbit responded, "I… I had a short vision of my brother standing in the corner. He said, 'Destroy it,' and I believe he is pertaining to that talisman. Perhaps it must be destroyed so it doesn't cause anyone else any undesired effects."

Lord Bogo nodded his head. "If that is what must be done, then I shall destroy it." He turned his head over to the gray rabbit in the room. "Hopps, come over here and shine that light of yours over to where the talisman is."

"Yes, Lord Bogo," Judy responded, walking up to where he stood and pulling out her flashlight.

The gray doe shined the light on the object, and Lord Bogo got closer to it so he could get a closer look at its details. The talisman had a gold-colored outline, with several small jewels creating an outline around its circular design. In the middle of it looked like a polished ruby, with what looked like the depiction of a hoof print etched upon its surface. (_That hoof that is engraved on it is probably why it received the name of Bouquetin's Talisman, _he thought.)

"What are you going to do to it?" Emmitt asked the buffalo out of sudden curiosity. Not because he wished for the artifact that caused such an issue to stay enact, but because his inquisitiveness had been piqued.

"I am going to ensure that this evil object does not fall into the paws of someone innocent ever agin," Lord Bogo responded, stating the obvious. He looked back at the otter. "It is advised you shield yourself, in case shards of it would happen to scatter."

The bovine put his hooves together, generating a flow of blue-colored electricity within them. Once it had been formed, he pointed down at the talisman and shot the energy directly upon its surface. A few seconds after it had been struck, it suddenly did what he said was a possibility.

The talisman suddenly burst into a series of tiny pieces. Emmitt placed his paws over his face and ducked his head, hopefully protecting himself from the fragments. The others in the room shielded themselves as well.

After some time had passed, Lord Bogo muttered to the others, "It is done."

Jack looked over at him, and then over at Emmitt. He outstretched his arm, and the otter held out a webbed paw. After he hoisted back up to his feet again, he dusted off his green tunic and looked around the hall.

"We will be heading back to the village now," Benjamin said to Emmitt. "Let us get you back to your family."

The otter smiled. "Yes, it's time for me to go back home."

* * *

** _Some Time Later…_ **

A big, spotted paw rapped on the rickety door a second time. Several seconds after he knocked, Clawhauser heard the sound of someone approaching.

"Coming," a voice said from behind the door. The voice belonged to Emmitt Otterton's wife.

The door was slowly opened, and the figure of a female otter in a light purple kirtle stared back at the cheetah. "Yes?" she said.

"Mrs. Otterton?" Clawhauser replied. "I believe there is someone that has come to see you."

Smiling back at her, Benjamin took a few steps to the left, revealing that Emmitt had been standing right behind him.

Mrs. Otterton placed a paw over her mouth in shock, and she started to feel tears taking formation in her eyes. "Emmitt!" she exclaimed with joy.

As his wife ran straight up to him and embraced him with a large hug, Emmitt smiled and hugged her back. "I have returned, my dear Octavia. You have not a need to worry about me anymore. I am safe."

Mrs. Otterton sniffled. "I'm so glad you're okay. The children and I have been praying for you to return."

"Well," Emmitt replied, still smiling brightly, "I couldn't have been brought home without a few helpful mammals. They aren't from here, but they were called to save me and did just that."

Lord Bogo and the others all approached the front door to the house of the Ottertons, smiles on all of their faces.

"Thank you," Mrs. Otterton said. "Thank you so much."

"Papa!" two young voices squealed from inside of the house.

The figures of Emmitt's two beloved children came running outside to where he stood, happy as ever to see their father once again after being gone for a good period of time.

"Finn! Eva!" Emmitt greeted them, giving them hugs. "I am so glad to see you guys again!"

"I'm so happy you're home again, Papa," Finn said to his father.

"You two been good for your mother? No picking on each other?"

"Maybe a little bit," Eva admitted with a small giggle.

"Guess what, Papa?" Finn asked excitedly.

"What is it, son?" Emmitt inquired back.

The otter pup giddily replied, "I had a little swimming race the other day with Liam and Olivia by the water, and I won!"

"That's fascinating, son!"

"Mhmm," Finn said back. "I knew I could win at a race. You know us otters are powerful swimmers."

Emmitt couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at his son's remark. "We sure are, Finn. I wish I would've been able to see it."

"And Mother was teaching me how to stitch," Eva chimed in. "I'm not as good as her at it, though."

"You'll get better at it with enough practice. The same rule applies to just about everything."

"You're home just in time for the Storyteller's Circle tonight, Papa," Finn said. "I'm going to be playing a song on my draymin there, too."

"That sounds wonderful. I cannot wait to hear you play."

Mrs. Otterton looked over at the mammals that helped her husband get back home. "You know," she suggested to them, "you are more than welcome to join us and the rest of the village later. If that is possible with you all."

The mammals surrounding Lord Bogo looked over at him. The bovine then gave an approving nod of his head, indicating to them all that they would be staying for this Storyteller's Circle that was spoken of earlier.

* * *

** _Later…_ **

The Storyteller's Circle in the village looked almost like one would have assumed it would look like. Near the outside of the settlement, away from the homes and the like, sat a small area that was almost reminiscent of a camping space. Wooden logs that served as "seats" to the circle, and a small spot that had dried straw and chunks of wood in the middle of it all was presumably where a fire was to be lit.

The members of the village all took their seats where they had chosen, all of them possessing these friendly expressions on their faces. For almost a brief moment, it was very much possible to forget that Outworld was the location of this village. Considering how most of the realm was unwelcoming and inhospitable, these folks seemed like anomalies within the land.

Jack managed to find himself a seat alongside the others. Directly on his left was Skye, with Lord Bogo, Nick, Judy, and Travis a couple of spaces away, and the Ottertons were on his right.

The conversations that were brewing amongst those that gathered immediately hushed as they heard the sounds of frail paws stepping against the dust-covered grounds. Approaching all of them was an elderly pangolin, who feebly held onto a walking stick as made his way over to somewhere he could sit. After becoming sedentary on the log nearest to him, he immediately went state of weak and hoarse coughing before looking at who was surrounding him.

"Who is that?" Jack asked, looking over at the Otterton family.

"That's the village's storyteller," Emmitt informed. "For as long as I can remember, he has been spinning a variety of tales."

Mrs. Otterton chimed in, "He also blessed our marriage and the birth of our two pups as well. His soul knows no limits when it comes to kindness."

The sound of the pangolin clearing his throat caught everybody's full attention. "Greetings, my fellow mammals," he said in an old, fragile tone of voice. "And I would also wish to give my greetings to some guests, as they are some folks here that I never recall seeing before. So I wish to welcome them." He paused a moment. "Before I tell you all a story, there will be a young mammal that will provide us with some music." He pointed a paw towards the family of otters that were present. "Finn Otterton, would you come to me and play for us all?"

"Go on," Mrs. Otterton whispered to his son.

Finn smiled, slowly making his way over to where the storyteller sat with his stringed instrument in his grasp. He nervously looked at everyone that was watching him, and then over at his mother and father. A moment of silence had passed, and the otter pup started to pluck at the six strings of his lute in a slow pattern. He did so for a short amount of time before he paused, only to start strumming at all of the strings with his tiny webbed paw. Along with his playing, he started to sing in what he hoped was a good enough tone of voice. Although he was quite young, his voice was actually quite pleasant to the ears.

From where he sat, Jack listened as the young otter sang. After some time had passed, he ended up mumbling aloud, "What is that he's singing about?"

"I believe I have an idea," Skye remarked after overhearing the buck's muttering.

The striped lagomorph looked at her. "Really?"

The vixen nodded. "His song is talking about the fall of Edenia."

"What is that?"

"Edenia was a realm that was once very prosperous. Everyone who inhabited it lived great and long lives, and the world was known for its beauty. But that changed when Seido took over."

"And what is Seido?"

"Seido was a realm of complete order and control, where citizens were met with nothing but regulations practically from the moment they take their first steps. Seido's leader found the realm of Edenia to be too overpopulated and its prettiness overbearing, so he destroyed it. The realm lost its beauty and many lives were snuffed."

"And that's what that otter is singing about?"

"Yes. Based on the fact that he is referring to a beautiful land turned to ruin, that is what I get out of it."

Jack nodded. "That's quite a treacherous tale for someone as young as him to be singing of."

"I agree," Skye responded. "But history is filled with its share of brutal moments. That is why we are taught it, so we can learn from mammalkind's mistakes and become better than the wrongdoers of the past."

"That is…" the buck trailed. "That is a great observation on the matter."

After he had remarked those words, Jack felt the larger white paw of the vixen rested upon his. He looked over and gave her a smile just as the otter's song came to its close.

Applause from his family, as well as the village members, greeted the pup's ears as he ran back to his mother.

From there, the pangolin addressed the crowd that he was going to tell the story that he had prepared for them. A succinct tale told in prose was what followed, told in such a way that it reminded them that kindness is always relayed to those who give it. The story reminded Jack of the fables he had read when he was really young as he listened to it.

After he finished up the tale, the storyteller added, "There is also two things that I wish to tell you all. Firstly, I must inform you that I sense the presence of the mammal who will stop the oppressive lion known as Leodore. In fact, he is sitting alongside you all at this very moment."

Conversations started to stir around the circle upon them hearing that remark from the pangolin. The storyteller had always had a tendency to sense when an event, whether big or small, was soon to come. And everyone knew that when he sensed something, it rung true.

"Secondly," the pangolin proceeded, "although not positive news, is something that I feel is important to address. My health, as you are probably aware, is worsening, and I feel that my time might be coming for me to take on a new form. That is why my-"

As he went to continue, he found himself going into yet another state of long and dry coughing. Upon hearing his coughing, a mole rushed over to him and helped him get back up from where he sat. After he was given his walking stick by who had helped him, he slowly trotted away from the villagers.

After things abruptly ended, Jack looked over at Emmitt Otterton and asked him, "What is wrong with him? The storyteller, I mean."

Emmitt sighed. "He hasn't been in the best of health for a good bit of time now," he answered. "But it's just now that his condition is taking its turn for the worse. He has been a member of our little community, though, for_ many_, many years. Some thought he was going to die way before he even got to his current state."

"Umm, Mister Rabbit?" a small voice said quietly. The one that had made the inquiry was Eva Otterton, who looked over at Jack liked she wanted to ask him something.

The jackrabbit looked over at the otter and replied, "Yes?"

Eva then asked, "Are _you _the mammal the storyteller said is going to stop that mean lion?"

Jack paused, putting on a smile. "I am, little one. I've come in hopes of finally bringing a stop to him."

* * *

_ **Meanwhile...** _

It was known fact that desperate times commonly called for desperate measures. And according to Leodore's mind, these truly were desperate times for him. If he were going to make sure those mammals from the other realm were going to lose to him, he was going to have to do anything in his power to make sure things work out in his favor.

And that was when Maura secretly suggested to him that a ritual be performed…

Small stones and pebbles shifted under their paws as they entered the tenebrous cave, and the noise they created forbiddingly reiterated against the rough walls of rock encompassing them. What awaited further ahead was a shear mystery due to the fact that light was absent, with no way of telling if an incorrectly-placed step would lead to one of them plummeting into the depth of the rocky hollow.

Lucky for those who were following him from behind, Leodore wasn't leading those who belonged to his crew without something to guide their path. With a small green orb of radiance he had casted, courtesy of the powers that he possessed, they were able to see a little bit of what was in front of them all.

The lion lead the five mammals behind him a bit further into the cave, stopping at a spot that seemed to be even darker than where they had been before. He made the orb that had been lighting their steps start to swell in size, and soon the entire circumference of where they stood had been casted in a green glow that made things visible enough.

He walked over to the very wall of the cave and stood idle. Maura ruffled her cloak as she joined him where he stood, and the other four that were present looked back at the two of them, awaiting what was to happen next.

"Here we are…" Leodore muttered. "According to the writings Maura has told me about, the only way Dolion can be summoned is by performing the ritual inside of a cave."

Xavier, who was among those Leodore had brought down to the cave, looked over at the lion in shock. Up until he had told them what exactly they were doing, he had simply been following him after he was instructed to join him.

"Summon Dolion?" the raccoon repeated. "Watcher of the Netherealm?"

"Remember when I told you that you're knowledge of invocation was going to be needed? Well, my good sir, this is one of the moments where it is necessary."

The raccoon stared back at the lion, completely frozen in place. He knew of Dolion thanks to his studies of evil spirits in the past. Summoning him, despite his research on such sorcery, was a task that actually gave him fright. Attempting to make communications with anything spawn of the Netherealm wasn't recommend for the inexperienced, but there was no use trying to tell Leodore what he was thinking. If he decided to open his mouth and blurt out something of that sort, the gods only knew what consequences would ensue.

Maura pointed a paw at him, getting his attention. As he and the others beside him looked back the lioness, she instructed them to get in the proper position for the ritual. She told to form the closest thing possible to a circle, and that was what they did.

Beside Xavier was Honey, Fangmeyer, and Maximus. The four slowly moved around the area. The raccoon's right paw held onto to the orange paw of the tiger, and his left onto the paw of the honey badger on his opposite side. And Honey held onto to the hoof of the horse, whose current face gave off the impression that he was beginning to feel a bit of fear as well.

Maura looked over to her side. A slender stick of some sort rested near her, presumably from someone who had previously ventured into this particular portion the cave. No one was present except for them, so it was best to assume that this had been left by a wanderer who probably met his doom here.

Reaching for the stick and grabbing it, she slowly approached the four mammals standing in their circle. Using the slender piece of wood she held in her paw, she started to trace some sort of shape on the dirt floor of the cave, right where the four were standing. While she did so, they remained focus as she muttered some arcane phrase under her breath. As the lioness stepped away from them, she muttered to them to not, under any circumstances, let go of each other's grasp. They all nodded their heads understandingly, and with that she walked over to where Leodore stood, who watched with patience as this process took place.

Maura got down to her knees, placing her paws flatly on the ground as the phrase she had previously muttered was repeated. Only this time she said a lot more audibly, and with a more powerful tone to her voice. After she did so, she clapped her paws together and gazed over at those that had formed the circle. Not even two seconds after she clapped, as if it were on cue, the green orb Leodore had casted to light their scenery suddenly went out. The entire cave was coated in darkness once again, and a gasp from Xavier soon followed.

A short moment of tenebrosity had passed, and the very middle of the symbol Maura had traced in dirt started to glow with an eery red color, similar to the tint of freshly-drawn blood. The deep glimmer started to grow in size, and it started to encircle where the four mammals were standing. All of a sudden, the mysterious glow's color transformed from red to bright purple. It started to get brighter and brighter, to the point where Xavier and the others found themselves having to squint their eyes due to the powerfulness of it.

The glow started to increase in height, to the point where it almost seemed to be covering them like a bedsheet. As this occurred, the brightness lessened in its intensity. Xavier took a deep breath, trying to not get too panicked as the glimmering continued to circulate him and the others that were forming the circle.

A flash of light unexpectedly streaked across his vision, causing him to utter a grunt at how sudden it was. As it dissipated, the raccoon found himself looking at the ground. When he gazed down at his paws, he immediately saw that they appeared to be disjoined from his legs in his vision. Seeing this caused him to gasp in shock, but he quickly reminded himself that he was probably envisioning it.

According to his own studies, the apparent perception of things like that weren't uncommon during invocations of this kind. It was always important to disregard anything strange that was seen during this process, but Xavier had forgotten to do so.

He picked his head back up and looked over at Honey, who looked like she hadn't moved a single muscle since all of this began. It was if she weren't even aware of all that was currently happening. As he continued to look at the honey badger, he noticed that she appeared to be losing her bodily outline. Just then, he saw the ratel suddenly shapeshift before his eyes, becoming nothing more than a viscous version of herself in his vision. He then looked over to his other side, noticing that Fangmeyer had become an orange-tinted variation of the same thing.

_This isn't real, _Xavier reminded himself. _It is nothing more than an illusion. You are summoning something from the Netherealm, after all._

Whiteness then encompassed everything surround the procyon, and he found himself being suddenly blown backwards. The same occurred to the others, and the circle had been broken as the luminosity dissipated.

Xavier gazed around the room, noticing that a purplish glow still remained, just vivid enough to provide some illumination. As he looked around at the cave, he noticed that everyone seemed to be back to normal. Just as he had assumed, what he was previously seeing was just a strange illusion.

Honey was flat on her back, slowly hoisting herself back on her paws. Maximus let out a small whicker, rubbing a hoof over his neck after being thrown over to the other side of the cave. Fangmeyer groaned as he got up on one knee, looking over at the raccoon that still appeared to be in shock from it all.

Just as Xavier went to ask the others if everyone was okay, he found himself jumping as a sudden poof of smoke, also purple in tint, arose where their circle was. Laughter arose from where it had come from, coming from an ibex that arose from the gradually-dissipating vapor. The goat stretched his neck as he looked around at those who had summoned, a large grin taking shape on his face.

"Dolion…" the procyon trailed, eyes now widened.

"How wondrous of a feeling it is to step outside of the fires of the Netherealm," the steinbock muttered. "Who among you is the one that has summoned me?"

As Xavier saw Dolion himself glare back at him, he started to shake. He held up a paw. "W-We all played a part in your-"

"Do not cower when you speak to me," the goat interrupted. "I can tell that you are the type to define yourself as a necromancer, and yet want to run with that bushy tail of yours between your legs when what you summoned speaks to you."

"I-I'm sorry," Xavier replied.

The ibex responded, "In the domain I keep watch of, saying you're sorry doesn't work. In fact, pleads for forgiveness are things we despise. I let you make note of that for the future."

"Dolion," Leodore called.

The goat looked over at the lion. "What?" he blurted in reply.

The tall feline answered, "It is actually the lioness that stands beside who thought of bringing you here. I am in desperate need of help, you see, and I believe you would be able to assist us."

"And what is it that you want to me to help you with?"

"You see, the tournament between Outworld and-"

"So you believe I will help you achieve victory?" Dolion interrupted, finishing the lion's thoughts exactly.

Leodore nodded. "Yes," he replied. "The combatants from the realm are much stronger than I anticipated. They traveled here to Outworld with hopes of stopping my reign after I've held onto it for so long. I have faith that it is you that will help me get what I desire."

The ibex hesitated. "And what would _I _get in return?" he asked. "I do not just offer assistance to someone without receiving something for doing so."

"Whatever you wish, Dolion, is what I'll give to you."

Dolion chuckled under his breath. "I can see that you are very desperate to make such a remark."

"There is also something else."

"What would that be?"

"There is a former member of my team that recently decided to ally herself with the other realm. As a matter of fact, I had received word prior to us summoning you that she managed to escape yet another one of my attempts of imprisoning her for her actions. If there is a possible way to make sure she is out of the picture once and for all, you have every ounce of my appreciation."

"You act as if I am some genie that will grant anything your mortal heart desires. I presume this mammal you speak of is an arctic vixen. Is that true?"

Leodore's eyes suddenly widened. "Yes, that is true. H-How did you know what kind of mammal she was?"

"You are staring at an all-knowing entity, and yet you question how I know of such details." After a brief pause, Dolion added, "A creation of mine will actually be quite useful in helping you track down this traitor of yours. She was made with the sole purpose of seeking whoever I command her to."

The goat then held his right hoof out stiffly in front of him, waving it as he gazed down at the ground below him. His eyes started to cast a greenish glow as he remained focused on what he was doing.

Another puff of smoke filled the area, and another figure emerged from it. Now standing before them was another white-furred vixen. In Leodore's eyes, she looked almost identical to Skye, except for the fact that she a set of sharp, unnaturally oversized teeth.

The vixen, clothed in an outfit that was shade of purplish-pink, stretched and let out a soft yawn. She smiled widely as she stared back at Dolion.

"Meet Milda," the ibex stated to those that were surrounding him. "This is who I was just mentioning to you."

"I was in the middle of a _very_ enchanting dream," she muttered in a smooth tone of voice. "What is it that you request of me now, my creator?"

Dolion pointed at Leodore. "That lion over there has someone that he believes must be stopped. Do you believe it is possible to help him find this mammal and track her down?"

"With pleasure," Milda replied bubbly. "Spying on and finding mammals is my specialty."

"Excellent…" Leodore muttered as he broke out into laughter.


	15. Milda

Resting against one of the few trees on the piece of land, the pair of large sacks, crafted out of strong material, remained untouched. This state, however, did not last much longer when the striped rabbit started to sprint towards them.

As he approached the large bags, Jack jumped forward and the most powerful kick he could in that moment towards the one on his left. The force of it had no effect, as the sacks was weighted down by whatever contents were inside of it, incapable of just falling over onto the grass.

From there, the buck proceeded to throw several small jabs towards the sack as if he were in an actual fight. He then practiced his ability to duck, and also continued to work on his high kick as well.

A short moment of time went by, and the lagomorph took a short break. He backed up a few spaces, looking behind him as the figure of an armadillo came strolling forward.

After hearing the tale being recited by the village's storyteller, something else came to pass. The armadillo who was walking up to him approached him and the others as they were leaving the Storyteller's Circle not too long ago. He introduced himself to them as Daiki, informing them that he was a good friend of Emmitt, who they had just returned back to his beloved family. After thanking them for returning the otter back to the village, the subject matter went to Leodore and how they planned to stop him.

What followed from there was Daiki offering to repay Jack and the others for helping Emmitt. He did this by allowing them to use the land he owned to practice their fighting abilities in preparation for their battle against the villainous lion. The armadillo had objects, such as the sacks resting against the tree, that were like punching bags back in the realm the buck and the others came from.

Knowing how the majority of the denizens within this realm were, it was still crazy to Jack how Daiki and the other residents of the village were all so hospitable to them. He and the others were technically sojourners to them, and didn't have to treat them as kindly as they did.

It was like they were the odd ones out in a world that consisted primarily of unfriendly faces, criminals, sorcerers, and mammals bent on the ideas of tyranny and total control. But Jack remembered what Lord Bogo had said not too long ago. If things went as they should and Leodore was defeated, he would request that the members of the village would be given new and much better lives. Lives that no longer consisted of the worries they had at the present moment.

While Jack was momentarily collecting his breath, the armadillo near him remarked, "You are quite skilled, I see."

"Thank you, sir," the striped buck responded.

The armor-shelled mammal continued, "I will admit that I do not have much knowledge when it comes to the art of fighting. However, with the abilities that you just displayed, I just know inside that you will be more than able to stop that menacing lion once and for all."

"I hope so," Jack replied.

The others started to walk up behind them, and the rabbit turned his head so he could see them all. Alongside those who were with him from the other realm was Benjamin, the large cheetah who was also a resident of the quaint village.

The jackrabbit turned back to the armadillo and said, "I believe we must get going now. Thank you, sir, for kindly letting us come here. You and the rest of the village have been very kind to us."

The armadillo responded, "It was my pleasure."

With that, Jack started to walk away from him and join the others where they were. Skye, Lord Bogo, and the rest of them all stood together, proceeding to assess where they would go now.

"I believe it is time we set out from the village and towards the next province away from it," Lord Bogo suggested.

As the others continued to talk with one another, the portly cheetah of the group raised his paw. When they asked him what it was that he wanted to tell them, he asked, "Can I join you?"

They was hesitation amongst the others for a brief moment., but Lord Bogo was the one to end the silence. "Are you certain you wish to trek alongside us?" he inquired in reply. "I am certain whatever awaits us next is quite perilous. We won't forget you or the other villagers if you choose not to come."

With certainty in his voice, the spotted feline answered, "I'm coming with you. I wish to be part of something important, and this is exactly that. I want to join you all in bringing an end to Leodore's reign."

The cape buffalo nodded his head. "Very well."

The cheetah couldn't help but squeal with delight as he and the others started to walk away from the armadillo's land. "This is so _exciting_!" he remarked. "First I got to take my boat out to the water and help rescue Emmitt, and _now _I get to help in the defeat of an evil ruler. This day's turning out to be a lot more eventful than I would have ever expected it to be!"

"I understand your enthusiasm for adventure," Lord Bogo said, "but like I said before, things could get dangerous along the way."

Benjamin nodded his head understandingly. "I am quite aware of the possible peril," he replied. "I'm not afraid of much, so I feel certain that I will be okay. And I _also _happen to have some knowledge of fighting, if I do say so myself. Not as much as you guys might, but enough for me to defend myself if anyone tries to harm me."

* * *

_ **Some Time Later...** _

The words of Benjamin Clawhauser filled the air as he and the other six mammals trekked onward. After he was bided safe travels by a couple of his friends, he and the others all left the quaint village and its humble inhabitant. The lodgings now way out in the distance, they were heading outside of the safe haven that village seemed to provide and into a different section of the dark realm of Outworld.

Jack, who remained silent amongst the team of seven, just focused on walking and look as if he were listening attentively to another of the cheetah's stories. For someone who doesn't really step outside of where they reside, he observed, he's had quite a number of tales to spin. Most of them, though, from what he had heard of them, were nothing more than the recounting pf day-to-day life as a member of his village.

_The leporine monks have to take a vow of silence, _he thought. _Perhaps this cheetah taking one could be beneficial. It feels as if he's been talking to us since our travels started._

But he kept those thoughts to himself. As much as he wished to tell him to perhaps stay silent for a moment, he refrained from saying anything. If there was anything he recalled from all of the teachings he had received, it was best to leave thoughts to yourself and not turn them into unnecessarily spoken words.

Focusing on the path ahead of him, he located himself through the uneven terrain of the forestland laying before him and the others. Unlike the other pieces of nature he had walked through in his life, this felt like there was something sticking out of the ground at every turn, ready for someone to trip over it. Poison ivy, as well as several other kinds of plants he knew to remain wary of, grew along the sides of the path, and he did his best to avoid it.

The striped buck looked up at the treetops for a brief moment, bringing his attention back to what was in front of him a few seconds later. As he continued to walk forward, something occurred that made him stopped dead in his tracks. Standing right in front of one of the nearby trees was the ghostly figure of his brother, causing him to let out a small gasp.

"You are getting closer to freeing me, my brother," the apparition said. Even though the figure was a good distance away from where he was standing, it sounded to Jack as if his brother was whispering right into his ear. "The squirrel…"

But as soon as Jack blinked his eyes, the ghost of his brother was gone. _The squirrel? _he thought. _Why do we have to find a squirrel? What does this have to do with avenging my brother and defeating Leodore?_

Then his mind went back to what Skye told him when they were sailing on Clawhauser's boat some time ago. It's more than likely that the answers to his question were soon to come. Maybe not at the speed that he wished they would, but eventually.

Skye, who had been walking only a few inches away from him, noticed the sudden look of surprise on his face. "What's wrong?" she asked.

Jack hesitantly responded, "I saw my brother again. It's just like when he came to me before about the talisman."

"What did he tell you?" the arctic vixen inquired in reply.

"He said something about a squirrel," the striped rabbit replied. "But I don't know who exactly that's supposed to be. There's probably many squirrels residing in this realm."

"I don't know," Skye said. "Your previous vision of your brother led us to Benjamin, so I have a feeling that we'll encounter another a mammal that we can consider an ally."

Nick, who was behind the buck and vixen, chimed in on the conversation. "This forest feels like it's been stretching on for a long time now," he remarked, changing the subject from what it had been. "Hopefully there's a clearing in the path pretty soon."

"I believe that there is one coming up soon," Lord Bogo's voice replied from behind him.

The red fox said to the others, "That's good, but I still think we oughta remain wary. I just got this hunch something's gonna emerge from the shadows before us. It's basic story structure for a moment like this."

The sound of paws sprinting through grounds covered with pine needles came from the left, and everyone looked in that direction.

"You just had to jinx us?" Jack said to Nick.

The russet-furred vulpine shrugged. "I'm sorry," he responded. "Don't blame me for something hiding about here, blame the-"

Right then and there, something leaped into the air, making the seven mammals peak their heads up. The figure they all spotted landed slickly in the middle of the passageway, several feet away from all of them.

What they were seeing was another white-furred vixen, nearly identical in appearance to Skye. She wore a mask over her muzzle and a revealing outfit hued with a pink color, and she glared at them with a look of menace. The seven mammals gasped upon her gazing at them.

"Who is this?" Jack muttered, being the first to speak.

The unknown vixen pointed a paw in Skye's direction. "So…" she said. "It seems you are the vixen that matches the description I was given." She then broke out into bubbly laughter that sounded very off-putting.

Skye looked away from who was pointing at her and to the others. "This has Leodore's name written all over it," she said. "All of you go ahead. I'll take care of her."

The six darted to the right, going around the two arctic vixens who were now glaring at one another.

"They will not get far," the vixen in pink snarled to Skye. "I'll make sure of that."

She then proceeded to utter some sort of sound, reminiscent of the pitch of someone singing in falsetto, striking the ground below her the second after she did so. Upon doing this, two beams of light the color of brimstone shot up ahead of the forest path, looking like snakes slithering in an attempt to seek shelter.

"Who are you, and why were you stalking us?" Skye said back.

"The name's Milda, for your information," the other arctic vixen replied. "I've been trying to follow your tracks specifically to find _you_." She broke out into uncanny laughter once again.

Skye grunted under her breath. "I had a feeling you had some sort of tie to Leodore. You can go tell him that I have _no_ desire to-"

Milda interrupted, "Let's not make assumptions so quickly. The two of us would actually make a good team, believe it or not. We have a lot more in common than you want to believe."

"I have nothing in common with villainous mammals like you, or anyone else working for Leodore!"

The villainous vixen before her chuckled. "We're both _vulpines, _aren't we? Is that not a similarity?" She took a few steps closer. "Listen"—she held up a paw like she was swearing under oath in a courthouse—"I will give you my word right now that I have no tricks up my sleeve."

Skye shook her head, refusing to believe any bit of what the other vixen was telling her. "I don't think so," she snapped. "I know you're one of Leodore's delegates. You're lying through your teeth!"

"You mean these teeth?" Her foe pulled the mask covering her muzzle down, revealing a set of naturally-sized teeth, getting a shudder out of Skye. "I should have just killed you on the spot like I was suggested to, but I thought trying to be nice would make things a lot less complicated. It seems I was wrong and that I'm going to have to fight you to the death now." Putting the mask over her face once again, she took a fighting stance. "Time for you to die."

"I don't think so."

* * *

** _Meanwhile..._ **

After running forward a good distance, the group found themselves starting to gradually slow down now that they were far enough away from who they unexpectedly encountered. Behind everyone else was Benjamin, who was letting out a sort of wheezing sound as he tried to catch his breath.

"You okay?" the red fox of the group asked.

The cheetah looked at the vulpine and nodded his head. "Yeah…" he said with a bit of a gasp. "I'm just… not good at sprinting…"

Just then, everyone noticed something beam past at a rapid speed, too quick for them to identify what exactly it was. The only detail they could make out was that whatever they had just saw breeze by was bright in color.

"Did anyone notice that or was it just me?" Jack said, chiming in.

"We all did," Lord Bogo responded. "But I know not-"

The cape buffalo was interrupted by several sudden popping noises. It sounded like they resonated not too far away from where all of them currently were.

"Uh, guys?" Benjamin said after a few seconds of silence. He pointed a shaky paw towards something that was obviously in his vision. "That doesn't look too good."

In that moment, the others looked over and saw what the portly cheetah had spotted. Around where they had heard the abrupt sounds, a dark-tinted clouds of smoke could be seen. The groans of several voices were audible from where the mist was, coming from something that was presumably hiding on the other side of it.

As the smoky cloud they all saw started to disintegrate, they started to see what was ahead of them more clearly. What they were seeing looked like the skeletons of several canids, animated and slowly approaching where they stood.

This was most definitely the work of someone's dark power, or at least someone with knowledge of reanimating the dead. While the origin of these things before them was uncertain at the current moment, what _was _certain was that they needed to stop them. After all, they were obviously here to prevent them from completing what they set out to do.

"Skeletons brought to life? This is not good," Benjamin muttered before his jaw dropped in shock at what he saw. "They definitely look like they're here to hurt us."

"This is probably the work of that other vixen that surprised us," Jack chimed in. "That's where the light we saw breeze by before the smoke erupted came from, after all."

After making that observation, Jack's mind, for a brief moment, went back to Skye. He prayed in the back of his mind that who she was fighting off didn't harm her.

"Regardless of their origin," Lord Bogo replied, "they must be stopped. They are definitely evil in nature." He turned his head to the cheetah of the group. "You said you had enough fighting skill to defend yourself. Will you be able to defeat what is in front of us?"

"I sure hope I can," the feline responded, a hint of doubt evident in his voice. "I've never had to fight off an animated skeleton before."

"Neither have I," Nick said, "but I guess there's a first time for everything in life."

Lord Bogo got himself ready to face whatever flagitious figures were awaiting them. He made a flicking motion with both hooves and held them several inches apart from one another, a bolt of blue energy forming in between them. The others that were surrounding him all prepared themselves for what was approaching them as well.

Just then, the stumbling skeletal figures went from their unhurried pace and broke into a run.

Taking a fighting stance, Jack remarked, "Let's get rid of these things."

* * *

_ **Meanwhile...** _

Milda ran forward and leaped into the air, and Skye defensively crouched down. From there, the vixen in pink darted up to her and attempted to deliver a kick, which was immediately blocked.

Skye took a tiny step back, raising her paws in front of her to prevent herself from getting hit with the jabs that followed soon after. The moment the foe before her tried to perform a roundhouse kick, she ducked before delivering an uppercut.

Getting up from where she had fallen to, Milda took several steps back. Pulling her mask down to reveal her sharp teeth, she let out shiver-inducing growl and then started ran forward. The moment she lunged forward, the way primitive mammals at one point hunted their prey, Skye uttered a short gasp before quickly getting out of her way.

As soon as she rolled over to her right, the vixen clothed in pink that tried to attack her failed to do so.

Milda let out a disgruntled groan at this failure. "Well, that was uncalled for, wasn't it?" she hissed. "You were _supposed _to be defenseless and just receive what you deserve."

"You should already get the impression by now that I don't take orders from adversaries," Skye snapped back.

Milda chuckled under her breath before running up to where Skye stood with her fists still clenched. The first jab from the villainous vixen that was about to be delivered had been swiftly blocked. Another attempted strike of the fist was blocked not even a second afterward, and Skye, with quick reflexes, responded with a swift kick to the other vixen's chest.

Milda stumbled for a very brief moment before making a violent sweeping motion with her one paw, attempting to slash at who stood before her with her own claws.

Skye, however, quickly ducked before even the slightest scratch could be laid upon her. She then tried to deliver another uppercut to this adversary, but as soon as she rose from her crouched position, the foe suddenly disappeared.

Below where Milda once stood, a gelatinous-looking puddle, large enough for her to have fallen into, had formed. This left Skye confused for a quick moment. _What is this? _she thought to herself. _Some form of portal she created and entered?_

"Surprise!" an evil yet vivacious-sounding voice remarked from behind her.

Instinctively, Skye turned around to face the vixen that undoubtedly stood behind her. However, the very instant she proceeded to do so, she suddenly felt a powerful kick, harder than any of the ones she ever delivered before, that sent her to the ground.

"Damn," Skye muttered under her breath.

Again came the sound of annoying cackling, along with the sound of paws crunching against the terrain of the woodsy passage. As Skye slowly but steadily picked herself back up, she saw Milda approaching her, holding a paw over her mouth to cover the grin on her hideous muzzle.

"What's the matter?" the vixen in pink said out of mockery. "Take a bad fall?"

Letting out a loud grunt, Skye proceeded to attempt at throwing several jabs towards the adversary in front of her. She managed to land two, but was blocked at the third. With an almost feral-sounding snarl, Milda tried to sweep at her with her claws again.

Skye pulled herself out of the way towards the left. As she was defensively doing so, however, she felt a slight sensation of pain course against her arm. It felt like nothing more than a paper cut for the first second, but it quickly started to feel similar to what one would feel if they burnt themselves. For a brief moment, she looked down at it and saw that she now had a claw mark where the stinging sensation was coming from.

She held her other paw upon her a second. Lifting it from off of her her arm and saw the trickle of blood that had been drawn. But she wasn't going to let something such as a mark like this one prevent her from taking down this other vixen that sought to kill her. She quickly shrugged it off, though, and glared over at Milda. She wouldn't give up just now and let her get what Leodore desired. And it was quite evident that neither of the vixens were going to go down without a fight.

Ignoring the fact that she still felt the stinging, Skye darted forward to gain momentum before sending a jump kick towards who had made the mark on her arm. This caught Milda kind of unprepared, and sent her tumbling downward. But she did remain that way for too long, and immediately proceeded to respond to the kick with an attempted uppercut.

Skye blocked this, however, and responded with another forceful kick. Another puddle-looking circle formed underneath Milda's paws, and she was immediately sucked into it. She reappeared a second after she disappeared, this time from a good height above the ground.

Skye tried to quickly turned around and defend herself. However, she was a second too slow, and ended being kicked hard enough to send her flat on her back. _Can't believe I was caught off guard by the _same_ thing, _she thought with a bit of frustration.

She got up on one knee. Starting to feel the stinging in her arm once again, she placed a paw against it and muttered under her breath. While she was hesitant, Milda started to run up to where she was, ready to swing her fist.

Before it could even come near her, Skye briskly held out a flat paw and blocked the fist from doing anything. Milda brought her other fist, but it ended up being blocked as well.

"Enough of this," Skye muttered before striking the adversary in front of her with her knee.

Upon receiving the powerful strike, Milda uttered a feeble whimper. She tried to strike back by swinging her arm forward, but was met with a paw to the face due to an unanticipated kick from Skye.

Milda was starting to stumble, and it was becoming evident that she was starting to not fight as well as she was in the beginning of their encounter. Before she could even react, she was delivered a flurry of jabs that were delivered with great force.

Milda deliver the best high kick she could in that moment. Skye, however, crouched down before fiercely uppercutting the adversary, who stumbled and fell clumsily against a large tree. She got onto her paws and knees and menacingly stared back at her, snarling at her with her wicked teeth.

"You remember this," Skye heard her say. "And remember that claw mark I left you with, too!"

And with that, a circle of flame encompassed Milda, encompassing where she was. Several seconds later, the blaze died off, and the flagitious vixen had disappeared along with it.

_So, you flee from the fight you incited to avoid accepting defeat? _Skye thought. _Looks like she wasn't as strong of a fighter as she perceived herself to be._

For a brief moment, the arctic vulpine scanned her surroundings. She didn't need any other surprises like the one she had just faced popping up unexpectedly, so it was necessary to make sure nothing was there. It was just her and the trees that made up this area.

Skye then decided to start walking forward. The others were way ahead of her and she needed to catch up to wherever they had already gone to.

* * *

_ **In the other section of the forest...** _

A bolt of electric shot from Lord Bogo's hooves, causing the skeletal figure approaching him to fall down before breaking apart. The buffalo heard the sound something coming from his side. Contracting a hoof into a fist, he swiftly turned around and jabbed at another of the figures. Just like the one beforehand, it had broken off into skeletal pieces.

They were managing to take down the small group of what had appeared before them, and it looked like no more were appearing in any way. When it came to the sudden peril, however, Clawhauser was hesitant yet on the defense as the others handled what sought to harm them. Even though he had a desire for adventure and the like, circumstances like these couldn't help but make him feel a bit fearful.

A small period of silence filled the air, and everyone looked to see if the coast was clear for certain.

"Anything else?" Nick said, inquiring what everyone else was most likely thinking.

An uncanny groaning noise came from the opposite side of the passageway, supplying him with the answer to his question. A single skeletal figure continued to grunt as it ran up to where Clawhauser stood.

"Benjamin!" Lord Bogo shouted alarmingly upon sighting the danger. "On your side!"

The large cheetah turned around just in time to see what was coming towards him, and he let out a small gasp. Instincts to kick in for him right then and there, and he swiped a spotted paw at the reanimated skeleton, following that up with a fierce kick that made the figure break apart. Not even two seconds after that occurrence, his ears registered a similar groaning noise come from behind him. He quickly spun himself and brought his leg out and delivered a similar kick to yet another figure.

"Gosh," Benjamin muttered to himself with a slight shiver.

Despite seeing all of this unfold for himself, he could not believe everything that just happened. Those things that had appeared before them in the path were like something out of mythology or a villager's tall tale, and it was right in front of him and the others.

"Okay," Lord Bogo said to everyone, looking both ways to confirm that nothing was around this time. "It seems there is no more of those things within the passage. We took all of them down."

Now that the fear started to die down for a moment, Benjamin started to put on a smile once again. "I can't believe we just did that!" he proclaimed with a bit of excitement. "Did you see that one on my side that tried to catch me off guard?" He pointed a paw back at Lord Bogo. "But it was a good thing you gave me that warning. Had you not, that thing probably _would've _got me by surprise. Thank you for that."

The cape buffalo bowed his head. "No need for gratitude," he replied. "Making sure we all remain safe and stop Leodore is my duty."

Clawhauser, from there, proceeded to ramble on about the adventurous moment that occurred not even a few minutes ago. "But did you see the way I fought off that thing?" he continued. "I studied those kinds of fighting techniques a long time ago, but I believe that's the first time I truly had to put all of that training to the test. I finished that thing off like Mrs. Otterton's cheesecake!" After he had made that last statement, he paused a moment and sagged his head slightly. "Speaking of which, I could truly go for a slice of that. She makes _the best_ desserts in all of the village."

"I feel ya, mammal," Nick chimed in. "I don't know about the rest of you, but some confections from The Big Donut would be good right about now."

Upon hearing the red fox's mentioning of confections, the portly cheetah cocked his head out of curiosity. "What is this... Big Do-nut you speak of?" he asked, mispronouncing the name of the delicacy out of a lack of knowledge.

"Only the best place where I come from to get some good-quality donuts," the vulpine responded. "For me, they're especially great after a long day on the set."

Clawhauser started to shake his head. "I've never heard of these confections you're talking about before. However, I am intrigued to eventually discover what they taste like."

"They come in all different kinds of flavors. If we're successful at stoppin' this crazy lion and Lord Bogo asks to grant you life in our world, perhaps you'll be able to try those out one day."

"That's enough discussing sweet foods," Jack interrupted. "That'll-"

The words of the striped buck were brought to a halt the moment he started to hear something running up to where all of them stood from behind. His ears suddenly perked up, and he turned around to see what it was. He half-expected it to be another danger, but he was relieved to quickly realize that it wasn't.

Running up to where he was standing was none other than Skye. The arctic vixen was panting in between breaths as she sprinted forward, gradually slowing down as she got closer to them.

In that very moment, Jack sighed with relief before faintly smiling. His internal prayers had been answered.

"Skye!" the buck exclaimed. Not even a few seconds later, however, he noticed that who had caught up with them had a paw against her arm, holding onto it like it hurt. "What's wrong?" he inquired upon noticing this, starting to become concerned.

"It is nothing," Skye responded. "Just a scratch."

The vixen lifted her paw off of where it had been resting upon in that moment, and Jack could see what she had been covering up. On that arm was a fairly-sized claw mark, a dark red line against her purely white coat of fur.

"What happened?" Jack asked.

The arctic vulpine replied, "That other vixen I was fighting clawed at me."

The striped lagomorph grunted under his breath upon hearing this. "Damn her for doing this to you," he muttered. "And there isn't anyone with an herb or tincture that could heal that in sight." He let out a somewhat-heavy sigh. "If only that tanuki that healed my leg was accompanying us right now. She would know just the thing to make that mark go away like it was never there."

"You don't have to be so worrisome about it," Skye responded. "I already told you, it is nothing more than a mark on my arm."

The jackrabbit replied, "You helped me and carried me when I was injured. It is only fair that I help you with this in return."

The vixen felt the stinging where she had been clawed at course through her arm once again, and she grunted and tugged at where she had felt it.

"What's wrong?" Jack inquired in a concerned tone of voice. "Is it burning?"

Skye nodded her head. "It's just a little bit of stinging. I'll manage." Changing the subject, she looked over at Jack and asked, "Now then, what was it again you said we needed to find."

The buck hesitated for a moment, but realized what she had asked him a few seconds afterwards. His growing concerns over the mark on the white-furred vulpine's arm were circling his mind, and her inquiry made him stop thinking of those things and come back to the present moment. "Oh, I-I'm sorry. What was that?" he replied.

"You said earlier you saw your brother again. What was it that you said he was telling you to find?"

"He said something to me about a squirrel," Jack answered. "But where are we supposed to find one, let alone the one he specifically mentioned? He didn't say what the name of this squirrel was, so how am I supposed to know?"

"Shall I give my input on the dilemma?" Clawhauser chimed in, raising his paw to get everybody's attention.

Jack looked back at the spotted feline and nodded his head. "Certainly," he replied. "You _are _an occupant of this realm, so any information is possibly useful. Do you happen to have acquaintance with any squirrels?"

"I'm sorry to say this, but I'm afraid I don't," the cheetah responded. "There used to be one that lived my village, but he died of old age awhile back. But if you're saying that you were told to find someone in this vision of yours, I don't believe that was who was mentioned. It's possible your vision's pertaining to a member of one of the other villages in the realm."

Jack nodded. "Perhaps we should all trek to one of them. Maybe we'll end up encountering who I'm supposed to. Although I'm not sure for what purpose were supposed to find this mammal just yet."

Benjamin became hesitant for a brief moment. "I don't believe the occupants of any of those villages are going to be as friendly as the mammals that live in mine, though. I heard that most mammals outside of this territory are warmongers, and would probably try to kill outsiders like us. That's what I heard about those areas, at least."

"I know that those are the most likely circumstances," the striped leporine replied. "But if that is the location of who we're supposed to meet, then that is where we must go. As long as we remain ready to fight off any denizens that come before us, we'll all be okay. As hard as it might seem sometimes, especially right now, we just need to keep a positive attitude."

Nick added, "My mother always used to tell me that if we keep believing in the back of our heads that something bad is approaching, that is exactly what will happen." He turned his head away from Jack and out towards the rest of the path that was stretched out before them. "Besides, we just fought off a small army of skeleton things or whatever the hell those just were."

"That is true," Clawhauser remarked, nodding his head in agreement with vulpine's words.

"Let us all travel onward then," Lord Bogo said to everyone.

And with that, the group of mammals all proceeded to walk further down the path.

* * *

** _Some Time Later…_ **

"I think I'm starting to see some sandstone buildings up ahead," Judy addressed to the others.

They had trekked their way out of the woodsier territory some time ago, and were currently navigating a forlorn-looking area of the realm. For a good distance, not much could be spotted.

With no unusual or notable landmarks within sight, the others had expressed concerns over getting lost and not being able to retrace their steps. But thanks to the gray doe's great sense of cardinal direction, that never happened.

Judy lead them the direction she believed would point to some other point of civilization, and it turned out that it was the correct direction.

They were slowly approaching to what she had just informed the others about: A series of sandstone buildings. The way they were outlined against the land was reminiscent of the way things were constructed in Clawhauser's village. As the group started to get closer to them, they noticed that they looked a lot more bland than where they had started from. In addition to that factor, they didn't see anyone walking around.

It was just like Clawhauser had told them earlier; this territory didn't have the friendly and welcoming atmosphere that the village he lived in did. In a dark realm like Outworld, a place that possessed those qualities was an absolute rarity.

They slowly approached the sandstone construction that was closest to them, coming to a stop as they started to get closer to it. Judging from its overall appearance, it looked like it was actually of the home of someone that lived on this part of the land. A wall, short enough for them to see passed, had been constructed nearby. To the left of the dwelling, within the corner of their vision, was a cracked ceramic pot, with a single, droopy pink flower resting against the soil inside of it. To the far left of the constructed dwelling was another one of similar appearance, with a row of other places of habitation stretching onward in that direction.

The soft humming of someone could be heard, coming from inside of the house that they were standing near. Upon hearing this sound, Judy and the others knew that they needed to hide. It was very possible that whoever was emerging from the home would spot them and possibly try to harm them.

Judy turned her head to the left, suddenly spotting another sandstone wall on the opposite side that was much larger. Large enough for them to hide behind.

Gesturing for the others to follow her movements, she ran over to where it stood. The others followed soon enough, crouching down with their back against the wall, trying their best to remain out of sight.

After several seconds of stillness had passed, the doe peaked her head up over the wall and saw in her vision who had presumably occupied the house on the other side. Who she saw was a she-wolf with long and curly fur, wearing a white dress. In her paws was a pitcher containing water, which she poured on the potted flower that looked like it wasn't going to remain alive for much longer.

The canid she was looking went to turn around after watering the flower, and happened to catch a glimpse of her looking in that direction from where she stood by the tree. Dropping the pitcher out of her paw, she pointed over towards Judy.

"Outsiders!" came the cry of the she-wolf, loud enough to get the attention of anyone else that could hear her from their dwellings. "_Outsiders!_"

The gray lagomorph got stiff; she had just been spotted. Judy ducked her head back down and turned around to the others, who were all still stealthily crouched down.

"We've been spotted," she told them in a not-so-hushed whisper.

The gray bunny gestured for the others to follow her lead, and that was exactly what they proceeded to do. They followed her as she darted off, but it wasn't long before someone else emerged from their dwelling after hearing the proclamation that outsiders were present.

Before any of them could run away from the area any further, a white tiger leaped into their field of vision. The striped feline wielded a bow and arrow, and was pointing it towards all of them, ready to strike whichever one he chose to.

The tiger looked back at the canid who had exclaimed the previous warning. "Thanks for informing us, Juno," he told the she-wolf. "It's been quite some time since any mammal had enough guts to step paw here." He turned his attention back to the group of outsiders. "State your reasons for approaching this part of the province!" he bellowed to them. "And don't try to be witty with me, or else you're going to get an arrow through the chest! You understand?"

While everyone else remained frozen where they stood, Jack was the first to step forward not even a second afterwards. "We mean no harm to you and anyone within this territory," he said to the arrow-wielding feline.

"Then why have you and these other mammals entered this part of the land?" the tiger snarled back.

Jack went to respond to the question he had been asked, but he saw something in the corner of his eye that made him pause momentarily. To his side, he saw the apparition of his brother coalescing before him.

"This is where the squirrel you must meet is," the apparition told him. "Ask to see Donovan."

As the ghost of his brother vanished from where it had appeared, the buck turned back to the white tiger and said, "We are searching for someone. A squirrel who goes by the name of Donovan. Do you know where we may find him?"

The expression on the muzzle of the tiger completely changed upon hearing this name being mentioned. Nonetheless, he still kept the arrow pointed towards him. "And what business do you have coming here and wishing to see a mammal such as him?"

Unsure of how to respond without explaining the entire scenario leading up to this moment, Jack said, "We must speak to him about something."

The feline scoffed at his answer to the inquiry. "I have no understanding why Donovan would have any desire to discuss something with outsiders like you. The scars that have been left on his mind made him cast everyone out." A moment of silence filled the air. "But... you seem to know of him somehow. I know not how that is possible, considering that he has very few acquaintances. What are you all? Mammals sent to spy on us?"

"I can assure that we are not-"

"Then what are you all if you're not?" the tiger interrupted. "If the gods were to strike you dead right now if you lying, would you maybe rethink your answer?"

Lord Bogo huffed and crossed his arms. "This buck just so happens to be standing in the presence of a god," he said as he pointed a hoof to himself. "And so do you and everyone else that is standing here."

The mammal still threatening them with his bow and arrow shook his head, unwilling to believe what was actually the truth. He then pointed the bow towards the cheetah of the group and snarled under his breath.

Clawhauser put his paws up like he was under arrest. "P-Please," he blubbered under in that moment. "I'm not asking for any trouble. I am just traveling alongside these mammals."

"I must admit," the striped feline croaked, "I've never in my days seen an oddity like you before. Never seen a cheetah that was as... _rotund _as you are."

Benjamin let out a scoff upon hearing that remark. Although he was never the kind of mammal that let the words of others sink in and get to his head, being referred to in that matter was not the best feeling. "I can't help I've always been on the larger side since I was a cub," he replied.

"Quiet!" the tiger snapped. He looked over at the others and casted all of them an evil glare. "I think the mammal in charge of our village would be interested to hear your stories."

The white-furred feline raised his head and let out a loud roar. A few seconds afterwards, two aardwolves emerged from the distance and came running to where he was standing. Both of them were dressed in sackcloth and were flashing the others a menacing grin.

"Yes?" one of the aardwolves inquired.

"Lead these intruding mammals up to our supervisor," the tiger commanded. "Let us see what he wishes to do with them all for coming onto our land."

"_Definitely_ not as friendly as the occupants of my village," Clawhauser muttered under his breath.

* * *

_ **Meanwhile...** _

The period of silence that had formed between Leodore and Dolion had come to an end. The sounds of a bristling fire reverberated around them, coming from where Milda had suddenly appeared. The vixen in pink grunted under her breath as sheroot closer towards them.

"Milda," Dolion greeted.

"What about the vixen I wanted you to track down?" Leodore asked without hesitation. "Did you finally take care of her?"

"You could say that," Milda responded.

The lion who was talking her suddenly boomed, "What is that supposed to mean? Is she dead or is she still alive? My patience is starting to wear thin when it comes to this mammal!"

"Now, now," the vixen answered. "She is still alive, but I don't believe she will be for much longer."

"What are you talking about?"

Milda looked down at her claws. "You see, I left a claw mark upon her arm that I believe will be successful at delivering her eventual demise. And it's all thanks to the abilities granted to me by my creator, Dolion."

As the vixen started to delicately giggle, Leodore started to widely grin at what he had heard.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there, readers, and welcome to this new story of mine! I've had the idea to write this in my mind for forever, and I am super excited to finally get to work on it. Putting together one of my favorite movies with one of my absolute favorite fighting games was just too fun of a concept to just put on the back burner. :)
> 
> Anyway, hope that I did a good job with this prologue. I'll be introducing the rest of the characters to this story (or should I say "Kombatants?") and in the upcoming chapters. As always, let me know what your thoughts are on this. Any feedback, whether it's good or bad, is gladly appreciated! :)
> 
> Also, I would like to give a big "thank you" to everyone that's been reading my other stories. It means quite a lot to me to know that some of y'all have been enjoying them!
> 
> 'Til next time, everyone! :D


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